New KCC feels the heat over spilt milk

• Farmers currently hit hard by glut fear firm could take industry back to the dogs

Mr Busienei said the firm is supposed to act like National Cereals and Produce Board, which cushions farmers from exploitation.

“They should wake up from their dreamland and guard farmers against exploitative private dairies because we have increased our capacity threefold,” Mr Busienei said.  

He blamed the current milk glut on the fact that New KCC has not ventured much into long-life product processing, a situation he says could throw the dairy industry back to the dogs.

He said long life product processors can consume 530,000 litres per day to produce products with a shelf life of over one year. Milk products with a longer shelf life include milk powder, the ultra-heat treated milk popularly known as UHT, cheese, butter and sour milk (mala).

He said New KCC has three UHT milk plants alone with a processing capacity of 300,000 litres per day. The biggest UHT plant in Eldoret with a capacity of 140,000 litres per day has not been operational since the firm was revived.

A source familiar with the dairy business said the firm had yet to fully exploited its Middle East export market.

Mr Reuben Chesire, the former KDB chairman who has since died, once suggested that the school milk programme be revived so as to cushion farmers from massive losses in the event of a glut.