An acute milk shortage has hit Kisumu city, leaving consumers struggling to find the commodity that is part of the staple diet of many Kenyans.
A spot-check by Kenya News Agency (KNA) in leading supermarkets and shops in many parts of the city reveals many empty shelves, while those with the commodity have hiked prices due to the scarcity.
KNA established that most sellers have hiked milk prices from about Sh50 to 60 for a half-liter packet of the popular milk brands.
Consumers have expressed concern over the scarcity and price hikes of the precious commodity in several supermarkets and milk Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the city.
The crisis has been attributed to the harsh weather conditions and the prolonged drought situation persisting in the country for several months now, leading to reduced pasture and fodder, hence the biting milk shortage.
This has prompted some sellers to go an extra mile to ration the product to ensure more people access it rather than a few people buying in bulk and storing at home.
“Now that milk isn’t as plentiful as before, we limit our customers to buy 3 pieces per person to ensure everyone is getting some milk; we’ve also stopped selling them in cartons,” says Bradle Odhiambo, the official in charge of orders at the Naivas branch Supermarket in the city centre.
He then said that due to the shortage, the price has gone up as they try to manage the situation.
“Due to the shortage of the milk, sales have decreased and prices have increased which has never happened,” says Erick Odera assistant manager, Naivas.
“I can’t find the milk brand I usually buy since the crisis begun,” says Nicholas Ochieng, a local consumer.
He added that due to the increase of prices, he cannot buy as many packets as he used to, forcing him and the family to have limited consumption of milk or even go with it.
A restaurant owner in the city centre, who only identified herself as Mama Beryl, stated, “We have been forced to increase the price of tea sold to our customers because the milk is sold to us at a high price.”
She also added that if the issue is not resolved soon, she’ll be forced to stop selling milk tea till further notice and being her main source of income it’ll be a loss to her. Initially a cup of tea used to cost Sh25, and now it costs Sh40, an increase of Sh15.
The Kenya Dairy Board expects the domestic supply to fully stabilize and recover with the arrival of the October–November–December short rains, which will replenish pastureland.
According to Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Kenya faces a long-term annual milk production deficit of about 4.42 billion liters, driven largely by poor animal nutrition and feed constraints.
By Mabel Keya-Shikuku and Amanda Ijai Wamalwa
