David Ndii, President William Ruto's economic adviser, said Kenya does not have a milk production shortage. He blamed empty supermarket shelves on new buyers, including workers at affordable housing sites. He spoke at the 2026 NCBA Economic Forum in Nairobi on Tuesday, Nairobi Wire reported.
Ndii said "a couple of hundred thousand people" work on affordable housing sites every day. "You will find crates of milk sitting there," he said. According to Nairobi Wire, he said contractors give workers milk along with their daily rations. He added that people who used to drink little milk are now drinking a lot.
Ndii cited Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data. He said annual milk production has risen 20 per cent to about 5.6 billion litres since the current administration took office. He said milk intake by processors rose 34 per cent over the same period. According to Nairobi Wire, he said intake went from about 500 million litres in 2022 to one billion litres last year. He also said intake in the first eight months of 2026 was almost the same as in the same period of 2025. "The only thing left to explain that stockout on the shelves is demand," he said.
Other figures show a recent drop. The Star cited an October 19 report showing that formal milk deliveries to processors fell from 88.89 million litres in May to 75 million litres in August. That is a drop of about 16 per cent. The Kenya Dairy Board blamed drought and pressure on animal feed. The report also pointed to problems with milk collection, processing and distribution. KNBS recorded formal intake of 77.1 million litres in August, down 5.1 per cent from July.
Consumers are paying more. According to KNBS data cited by The Star, fresh packaged milk prices rose six per cent in September and UHT milk prices rose eight per cent. Tuko News reported that Ndii's remarks angered many Kenyans.
Ndii put the value of yearly milk production at nearly KSh 400 billion at current farm-gate prices. He said official statistics often lag behind fast changes in the economy. He said talks with KNBS are under way to update its sampling methods.