- Milk brands are disappearing from shelves as shortages push prices higher.
- Falling formal milk intake is putting pressure on supplies and farmers.
- COFEK wants urgent government action to stabilise production and prices.
Popular milk brands have grown scarce on supermarket shelves across Kenya as an intensifying shortage pushes prices higher, the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) has warned.
Shoppers in Nairobi have reported struggling to find familiar brands on supermarket shelves, with some retailers limiting how much milk customers can buy at once. COFEK said the shortage has become severe enough that branded packaged milk is now intermittently scarce in stores, a development the federation linked directly to falling formal-sector supply. In some outlets, the price of fresh milk has already climbed from Ksh 70 to Ksh 80 per litre.
Formal milk intake falls
In a statement issued on August 31, COFEK said formal-sector milk intake fell by five per cent, from 88.89 million litres in May 2026 to 84.44 million litres in June, according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The federation noted that June’s intake was also 6.4 per cent lower than the 90.24 million litres recorded in June 2025, pointing to growing pressure on formal milk supplies.
The milk shortage has been attributed to declining production, delayed rains and higher animal-feed costs squeezing supplies.
Farmers squeezed by rising costs
COFEK linked the decline to challenges facing smallholder farmers, who account for roughly 80 per cent of Kenya’s milk production. Some farmers have reported that yields have fallen from seven to nine litres to four to five litres per cow per day.
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According to COFEK, delayed rains have affected pasture, reducing the amount of feed available for dairy cattle, while commercial feed costs have risen by about 45 per cent. The higher production costs have put further pressure on farmers and raised concerns that some could abandon dairy production altogether.
COFEK’s demands
The federation is demanding that the Ministry of Agriculture publish a transparent recovery plan within seven days, including monthly milk-intake targets, and immediately activate emergency fodder and feed subsidies for affected dairy-producing counties.
COFEK has also called on the Kenya Dairy Board to account for the 2025 milk surplus and disclose the status of milk-powder reserves, while establishing a permanent mechanism for absorbing surplus milk and maintaining strategic reserves.
It is further demanding that the National Treasury waive import duty and VAT on yellow maize, soya and other key dairy-feed inputs, to lower production costs and help prevent more farmers from leaving the sector.
The federation has also called for active monitoring of retail milk prices and fortnightly public updates on milk intake, prices and reserve levels, warning that it could pursue further advocacy and legal action if its demands go unmet within seven days.
By Benedict Aoya
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