The supply of butter has gone down by 50 percent. [Photo/ westerlycreative.com]
The production of cheese, butter and ghee has been hit hard as the country continues to grapple with milk scarcity.
The raw milk scarcity has led to a drop in production of the high-end products as processors give fresh packed milk first priority.
“The exceptionally dry weather, which depressed our raw milk intake, caused an upset in our production plan. Some products were hit harder as we prioritised on immediate needs of our esteemed customers,” John Gethi, Brookside Dairy director of milk procurement said in an interview with a local business newspaper.
“The supply of butter has gone down by 50 percent. Priority is given to fresh milk,” New Co-operative Creameries (New KCC) managing director Nixon Sigey said. French retailer Carrefour last week in a notice said there was a shortage of dairy products in the market.
Gethi said rain patterns had changed making it difficult to know when normal production will resume and close the product’s shortage gap.
The drought that hit the country late 2016 and early 2017 cut milk production countrywide with KCC reporting a 40 percent drop intake.
Processors have been reconstituting powdered milk estimated at Sh2 billion into fresh milk to meet domestic demand. Stocks are, however, still insufficient.
Brookside and New KCC had in excess of 1.2 million kilograms of milk powder by February. This has been inadequate in supplementing deliveries from farmers.