MPs Demand Ban on Dairy Imports

KENYA - A parliamentary committee wants the government to stop importation of milk, saying cheap imports are killing the local industry.
calendar icon 9 December 2019
clock icon 1 minute read

Legislators on Friday turned the heat on the Agriculture ministry, which they accused of overseeing the death of the dairy sector by allowing cheap imports from Uganda, thus causing a glut and sharp decline in producer prices.

They asked Livestock Principal Secretary Harry Kimutai to explain why the ministry had allowed the imports when local farmers were producing more than the required amount for consumption.

Mr Kimutai had presented to the committee documents showing that the country is currently producing 5.6 billion litres of milk annually, while the consumption stands at 5.17 billion litres, indicating a surplus of 430 million litres.

Despite the oversupply, the government has allowed importation of 12 million litres per month from Uganda, which is about a third of the intake by local milk processors.

It was also revealed that Kenya imports close to 120 million litres from the East African Community (EAC) member states and two million from non-EAC members, further piling pressure on local farmers.

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Source: The Standard

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