Kenya on Wednesday introduced new regulations to streamline the management of the dairy industry and facilitate export of milk products to neighboring countries.
Peter Munya, cabinet secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives said the new regulations, aiming to revamp the dairy industry while providing mechanisms for the sale of milk beyond the country’s borders, will come into effect immediately and replace the 2006 ones.
The ministry said the regulations are aimed at protecting Kenya’s dairy industry against unfair trade practices and dumping. The existence of treaties and cross-border trade agreements across nations are taken into considerations.
He said the new regulations provide for the safety of dairy products through labeling, examination, calibration, records, storage, and distribution for the value chain actors.
And it aims at enhancing consumer protection and safety of dairy produce, improving access to information on marketed dairy produce, and providing a mechanism for tracing and recall of dairy produce.
Margaret Kibogy, managing director, Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) said the industry was growing at nearly 5 percent per annum in production and 7 percent in processing and value addition.
Kenya last year processed about 684 million liters of milk, an increase of 9.5 percent from 2019.
