Milk shortage triggers price hike in Nakuru
A row of nearly empty milk shelves at Clean shelf Supermarket along Kenyatta Avenue street on 7,September 2026
How frequent are you having chai? Tea which is often part of breakfast in many Kenyan households may be affected by the availability of milk in the country.
Kenya has been experiencing a huge shortage of milk with most shoppers not getting their preferred brand of milk at supermarkets and retail shops in Estates.
A spot check in Nakuru supermarkets was met by a notice on the shelves. Clean shelf supermarket along Kenyatta Avenue had available milk with a notice that shoppers could not buy more than three packets of Milk.
On the other hand, Naivas supermarket along the same street had their milk section shelves clean on packet milk with a notice reading “Notice to our Esteemed customers. We are currently experiencing bulk milk shortage. Apologies for the incontinences”
A notice at the milk section at Naivas Supermarket along Kenyatta Avenue street on 7,September 2026.
Irene Njeri, a shopkeeper in the city, notes that clients would pick milk from her shop at lunch time but now all she tells her customer is that they are waiting for suppliers since their stocks have cleared out.
“The shortage is really affecting our business. I hope the supplier will restock our shops soon,” she noted.
This shortage has ultimately led to the increase of the price of fresh milk in milk ATMs in supermarkets with prices ranging between sh 76 to sh 86 in different supermarkets.
A shopkeeper in the Whitehouse area, Ann Gitae notes that the price of milk has shot from sh 70 a litre to about sh 80 – sh 90 depending on how much you bought from the suppliers.
“Earlier we would get a liter of milk at sh 60 and sell at sh 70. However, with the shortage the supply has been cut and prices increased. We would get about 20 liters of milk in a day, however at the moment we get less than 10 liters at sh 70 or sh 75,” she noted.
Seemingly, Ywaya Tajiri’s lyrics, ‘Nakungoja kuliko chai ya Saa Kumi’ may not be resonating with many since maziwa ni adimu at the moment.
Elburgon Progressive Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society chairperson, Sang Jonstone, notes that they have registered a decline of milk supplied to the cooperative from areas of Molo, Njoro, Rongai and some parts of Kuresoi North.
“We have not witnessed a sharp decline; however, we are not getting to our optimum point. We registered 18,0000 liters in August down from 20,000 liters the previous month. This could be attributed to the drought that hit the country leading to less feeds to the daily cows,” Sang noted.
To register positive turnarounds for their cooperative he notes they are training farmers to not only rely on silage but also try fodder like Napier grass.
“This will lead to an increase in milk production easing the shortage currently being witnessed. The prices are quite encouraging for farmers since we are now buying their milk at sh 52 up from sh 42. Our target is to hit 25,000 liters on milk production in a month,” he noted.