This archive report was first published on 11 December 2019.
Kenya is facing a milk import crisis, with the country's dairy industry struggling to compete with cheap imports from Uganda.
According to data presented to Parliament, milk imports from East African Community (EAC) member states have increased significantly, with 110.7 million litres imported between January and September 2019, up from just 3 million litres in 2016.
The majority of these imports came from Uganda, with Trade Secretary Peter Munya stating that a team will visit Uganda next week to verify the origin of the milk.
Mr. Munya explained that the verification mission is necessary to determine whether the milk imports are indeed from Uganda or from third-party countries.
Kenya is bound by the EAC protocol, which prohibits the country from stopping imports from Uganda. However, the government is expected to come up with remedial measures to address the issue.
Local dairy farmers are struggling to compete with the cheap imports, with processors buying a litre of milk on average at Sh19, down from a high of Sh37 in January.
Parliament has taken officials from the Kenya Dairy Board and the State Department of Livestock to task over the sharp rise in milk imports from Uganda, with the House committee ordering the ministry to stop the imports.
