The dairy regulator has confiscated a consignment of substandard powdered milk in Nairobi that was found to have been imported illegally.
The move followed a raid that was conducted by a multi-agency team of Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) and the Anti-Counterfeit Authority.
KDB Managing Director (MD) Margret Kibogy said they confiscated powdered milk equivalent to 16,000 litres within an hour of operation. She said lot of the substandard product was still in circulation as businesses closed once they learnt of the raid.
“We found out that this milk was brought in illegally as they are not registered in our system and even some have been worded in Arabic, when all products shipped in the country should either be in English or Kiswahili,” said Ms Kibogy.
The raid comes just days after dairy farmers raised concerns over the influx of cheap dairy products in the market, which has affected their business.
The MD said the influx could be part of the reason why milk prices have significantly dropped in the last couple of months. Processors are paying farmers an average of Sh20 per litre from a high of Sh37 at the same time last year.
KDB said the country’s monthly demand is 50 million litres every but the sector has witnessing in excess of over 65 million litres monthly since July.
Milk production in the eight months to August rose by nine percent to mark the highest quantities in the last seven years. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows the volumes hit 443 million litres in the review period up from 406 million in corresponding period last year.
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