Ruto says Kenya's eight New KCC plants will supply nearby markets directly; August milk intake 75m litres

Kenyan processors received 75 million litres of milk from formal channels in August, down from 88.89 million litres in May, according to Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) data cited by The Star on 19 October 2026. Deliveries were 84.4 million litres in June and 81.3 million in July. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data show June intake was 6.4 per cent below June 2025.

President William Ruto said on 18 October, at a church service in Kapsabet, Nandi County, that the eight New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (New KCC) factories will operate independently, each running its own production and distributing milk directly to the markets around it, the Kenyan news site Kenyans.co.ke reported. Milk had been routed through the Nairobi factory before reaching other parts of the country, which the site said added transport and distribution costs. The plan is modelled on the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), which operates a decentralised system.

Ruto also said the government will pay about KSh 400 million owed to dairy farmers by the end of October. He told the State Department for Livestock to look at improved camel and water buffalo breeds as other sources of milk.

KNBS put annual inflation at 6.8 per cent in September, up from 6.6 per cent in August. KNBS recorded fresh packaged milk up 6 per cent in September and UHT long-life milk up 8 per cent. A 500ml packet of fresh milk averaged KSh 61.23, against KSh 57.74 in August, and loose fresh milk rose from KSh 73 to KSh 77.54 a litre, The Star reported on 1 October. KNBS Director General Macdonald Obudho said the rise in inflation was driven mainly by food and non-alcoholic beverages, up 9.5 per cent year on year.

Kenya produces an estimated 5.4 billion litres of milk a year. Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke said only about 30 per cent of milk had entered the formal market, against a government target of 70 per cent, and blamed the fall in deliveries largely on drought, which has cut pasture and raised pressure on animal feed. The 2026 National Agriculture Sector Investment Plan estimates about 25 million tonnes of feed available against a need of 55 million tonnes of dry matter a year.

A Kitale farmer, John Kimani, said his 23 cows now give between 400 and 460 litres a day, down from about 700. A Kisii hotelier, Kevin Gichana, said supermarkets in town limited him to four packets, and that falling supplies from Borabu and Sotik had forced businesses to raise the price of tea.

The KDB said on 1 September that formal deliveries fell 3.7 per cent from June to July, and that retail prices had generally held steady, with some increases in areas short of supply. It called the supply constraints temporary and expected recovery after the October to December 2026 rains. KDB Chairperson Genesio Mugo said, as quoted by Citizen Digital on 11 September: "We do expect the situation to stabilize immediately we have the long rains." He said imports are limited because Rwanda and Uganda, the main suppliers, are also short of milk.

Stephen Mutoro, secretary-general of the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK), said consumers deserve a transparent, evidence-based explanation of the shortage and its impact on prices. COFEK asked the Ministry of Agriculture, the KDB and the National Treasury to coordinate an emergency response, including feed support, price monitoring and strategic milk reserves. In July the government announced plans for a KSh 465 billion National Feed Strategy.

On 16 October the Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development said the government will not sell the New KCC factory in Sotik to private investors. The factory stays under public ownership, and farmer-owned entities may run some commercial operations under a leasing arrangement, Capital FM reported. The ministry said it is verifying amounts owed to farmers, suppliers and employees with the National Treasury and others, and did not give the total or a payment date.

Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe told a Senate committee on 16 September that the State Department for Livestock Development procured milk coolers in the 2024/2025 financial year under a KSh 1.4 billion contract to prevent spoilage.