Kenya bans milk powder importation to protect local dairy farmers

KENYA – The Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, has banned the importation of milk powder from neighbouring countries to protect the local dairy industry and farmers from unfavourable market competition.

This decision follows a rise in Kenya’s milk production, which has made the country the second-largest milk producer in Africa, behind only Egypt.

The government says the move will help boost local farmers’ earnings and enhance domestic production, as national milk demand stands at 8 billion litres annually.

The dairy industry in the country contributes up to four percent to the national Gross Domestic Product and supports more than 700,000 jobs directly.

According to Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe, the ban aims to shield local producers from unfair competition while ensuring that local demand is met as the population increases.

Kagwe also issued a stern warning to unscrupulous traders who have been exploiting loopholes to import milk powder, saying their actions were undermining local producers.

“We want to warn those illegal importers of milk powder into the country of what they are doing and would like them to stop. Everything that is consumed by a human being must be vetted and verified,” he said.

At the same time, the CS announced that the government has stopped street hawking of milk to address growing health concerns over unregulated milk products being sold openly.

Speaking in Naivasha during the graduation ceremony of the Dairy Training Institute, Kagwe said the government is formulating new regulations to streamline the sector and cushion farmers from losses.

To address the high production costs, Kagwe noted that the government is enhancing local production of livestock feeds that meet both protein and energy requirements.

He added that plans are underway to waive taxes on animal feed to reduce farmers’ production costs further, as demand for milk products continues to rise.

He further revealed that the government is also working to increase local production of wheat, rice, and cooking oil to reduce the country’s food import bill, which currently stands at Ksh500 billion annually.

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