Kenya's chai tea lovers are not happy as the nation's cows run dry

Kenya’s chai enthusiasts are expressing frustration as a nationwide milk shortage disrupts their daily ritual of sweet, spiced tea. A meal in Kenya often feels incomplete without a cup of chai, prepared by boiling tea with generous amounts of milk and sometimes flavoured with ginger and spices. The beverage is served at meetings, during social visits and consumed multiple times a day by many. Now, however, supermarket chilled sections are nearly empty, retailers have raised prices and imposed purchase limits, leaving shoppers struggling to obtain enough milk for their tea. Authorities attribute the shortfall to drought, which has curtailed pasture growth and hampered production. The Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) acknowledges “supply constraints” and “low stock levels” across the country. Muthoni Macharia, who runs an eatery in Nairobi, usually purchases more than 70 packets of fresh milk each week. She described the situation as hopeless and puzzling. “Where has the milk gone?” she asked when the BBC spoke to her as she was out searching for at least a few packets to quench her customers’ thirst for chai. Macharia said shortages have persisted for about a week, particularly affecting her morning rush hour. Regular customers are unhappy; some opt for black tea, but many refuse. “If they come in groups, and there’s no milk tea, you see that’s a loss for me,” she said. Kenya remains one of Africa’s leading milk producers. A long‑standing commercial dairy sector has made pasteurised milk popular, especially in urban areas, with Kenyans ranking among the continent’s highest consumers, according to industry data. Raw and fermented milk is more common in rural regions. According to the KDB, formal milk deliveries to processors fell by 3.7% from 84.4 million litres in June to 81.3 million litres in July, with preliminary data indicating a further decline in August. The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) reports a downward trend in supply since the start of the year, linking it to delayed seasonal rains that have reduced grazing land and a 45% increase in animal feed costs. Cofek has criticised the rationing and rising prices, noting that fresh milk prices have climbed from 70 to 80 Kenyan shillings per litre ($0.54 to $0.62; £0.40 to £0.46). “This shortage was foreseeable, and in part, avoidable,” the federation said. Cofek also faulted dairy processor New KCC, a state‑owned company, and the KDB for failing to absorb last year’s surplus, arguing that converting excess milk into powder could have eased the current crisis. “Had these buffers been in place, today’s supply shock would have been substantially cushioned,” Cofek said. The group has urged a recovery plan that includes fodder subsidies and tax waivers on livestock feed inputs, as well as active retail price monitoring to prevent profiteering and rationing. In response to media enquiries, KDB managing director William Maritim assured that, despite the “temporary supply constraint,” milk continued to be available. He added that fresh pasteurised milk, which has a shorter shelf life, has been more affected than longer‑life UHT milk. Shoppers in Nairobi supermarkets voiced concerns about rising costs. “Sometimes when I go to the supermarket I find there is none. When I do find some, the price has gone up. Today it is this price, next it has gone up again,” said Bernard Abok, who shops after work. Patricia Gathoni said that if prices keep rising she will have to reconsider what she gives her children, adding that she has resorted to diluting the milk she manages to buy with water. On Thursday, agriculture ministry officials met with dairy processors to discuss the problem, pledging to support farmers, stabilise supply and protect consumers. Jonathan Mueke, the ministry’s top official in charge of livestock development, said the immediate focus is to secure more feed for farmers, including duty‑free imports of yellow maize. He added that longer‑term measures are under review to manage stability during periods of both surplus and shortage. Reports of milk being discarded during gluts are not uncommon; farmers often complain about low returns for perishable product at such times, constrained by limited processing or storage capacity. Mueke noted that the government is considering establishing a fund to aid milk preservation during surplus periods and is also looking at temporary imports from neighbouring countries to alleviate the shortage. For the devoted Kenyan chai lover, that may offer some respite. Additional reporting by Ahmed Bahajj.