Brookside Accuses Kenya of Blocking Its Milk Supply From Uganda

Brookside Uganda is citing biased issuance of permits to milk processors by Kenyan authorities.

The Kenyatta owned is accusing the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) of selective approval of the necessary documents required to move products into the Kenyan market from its Uganda operations.

The board’s managing director Margaret Kibogy however dismissed the claims saying trade between Kenya and Uganda is smooth.

Brookside claims that while Ugandan milk brands such as Lato and Dairy Top are easily finding their way into Kenya, KDB has denied import permits for its Dairy Fresh brand.

Traders in parts of the Rift Valley and Western Kenya have confirmed the availability of the Ugandan bands; with industry sources saying the KDB had allowed their importation, while denying import permits to Brookside.

Traders are now calling on the two governments to review and solve the impasse so as to give consumers a wider choice of products.

“Consumers are asking why we no longer stock Uganda’s Fresh Dairy products (processed by Brookside Limited), but we are telling them we are not receiving any supplies from Kampala,” Simon Gathuita, a wholesaler in Bahati, Nakuru said.

Brookside Limited’s General Manager in Kampala, Benson Mwangi, said the processor had not received any response from the KDB on the fate of 114 export permits it had applied for, and that several reminders to the Kenyan dairy regulator had fell on deaf ears.

“Brookside is one of our leading processor in the dairy sector and doing a commendable work in supporting the farmers and consumers in Kenya.  KDB will continue supporting Brookside and all other processors in the sector towards making the dairy industry vibrant and attractive,” Kibogy told the Star on the telephone.

She said together with the dairy stakeholders, they are focusing on export market where in 2023, the country exported dairy products worth Sh7.3 billion.

During President Yoweri Museveni’s visit to Kenya, on May 17, the two countries signed a communiqué in which both committed to solidification of bilateral relations for mutual prosperity and development.

There has been an unending non-tariff barrier on trade between the two countries, mainly on dairy, poultry, fish, sugar and other agricultural products, even as the two countries remain key trading partners in the region and Kenya’s biggest export market.

According to the Kenya Economic Survey 2024, the country exported goods worth Sh126.3 billion Uganda last year, up from Sh97.2 billion the previous year.

Imports from Uganda were valued at Sh41.2 billion, which was an increase from Sh39.9 billion in 2023.

Back-to-back tiffs, blamed on protectionism, are however said to deny traders in the two countries maximum benefits of the existing potential.

According to reports in Uganda media, trade relations between the two countries continue to hurt Uganda dairy farmers through continuous bans and denial of export permits for Uganda dairy products.

“We are optimistic that KDB could soon implement the tenets of a communiqué by our two heads of state on May 17, and which would unlock the impasse and allow us to resume export of our products,” Mwangi said on the phone from Kampala.

“We are confident the communiqué signed by the two heads of state is key to unlocking the trade barriers affecting our dairy exports to Kenya,” Mwangi added.

In March last year, the Kenya Dairy Board stopped issuing permits for Ugandan dairy products in the Ken Trade system, despite a notice banning dairy imports issued by the same regulator having been rescinded by the Principal Secretary, State department for Livestock Development.

KDB remained cagey on the issue, with officials remaining tight-lipped on queries for clarification on the matter.