Dairy cooperatives turn to hawking milk over prices

Search for better pay is pushing dairy cooperative societies in Central Kenya to sell milk directly to consumers.

Normally, cooperatives sell their milk to the country’s two leading milk processors, New KCC and Brookside, but they complain that the two have failed to increase farm gate prices, despite costs for processed milk going up.

Half a litre of processed milk sells at a retail price of Sh45, which translates to Sh90 per litre. “Processors pay Sh28 per litre to the cooperatives and only Sh24 reach the farmers, making the business unprofitable,” general manager, Shama Milk dairy cooperative in Nyeri, Mr Stephen Muthoga said noting that at Sh24 a litre, dairy farming is not sustainable as the cost of production is currently at the same level.

However, selling milk directly to consumers fetches Sh40 per litre, and most cooperative societies have invested in milk coolers and milk bars, where they are tapping into the more promising prices.