Brookside Dairy Limited is owned by the Kenyatta family.
Since regaining power in 2013, the family has had a ‘winning streak’, from plundering public coffers to using state resources to shove up their businesses.
They have done this blatantly and without shame.
Acquisitions
Brookside started in 1993, it has taken advantage of the near collapse of the Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC) after the later fell into loses.
Since then, and given the feeble challenge they receive from the New KCC, Brookside has acquired some competitors in the dairy industry.
Brookside acquired Molo Milk, owned by Buzeki Dairy in 2013.
In 2015, Brookside took over operations of leading Uganda dairy operator Sameer Agriculture and Livestock Limited (SALL). SALL which is a Sameer Group owned company, owns the Daima milk brand.
Other popular milk brands acquired by Brookside include Ilara, Tuzo, Lea, Ever fresh, Kilifi Milk, and all of Delamere’s milk estate (including Youghurts).
Kenyans are left with no choice. Even those who hate Kenyattas but love milk will most likely find themselves buying a milk brand that belongs to the Kenyattas in one way or another.
These acquisitions has placed Brookside’s market share at over 40%, followed by New KCC at 35%, the rest is shared by Githunguri Dairy Farmers Cooperative (10%) and other small players.
There are rumours that Brookside wants to take over Githunguri Dairy Farmers Cooperative, the producers of Fresha milk. If this goes through, Brookside, a single and PRIVATE entity, will command over half of the Kenyan milk market.
Milk Bill 2019
The Milk Bill 2019 by the Kenya Dairy Board, among other things essentially criminalises the sale of milk directly to neighbors, or if you like, middlemen who are essential in taking the product to factories or consuming it.
These direct consumers are very important to some farmers, as they provide them, a stable conduit to make their money in peace.
What Uhuru has succeded in doing by this rhetoric is to present himself as “Mr. Clean” and point fingers to others.
The only war he is fighting is that of a clean image otherwise he is an incompetent, corrupt idiot to say the least.— Samuel Gitau (@samgy) March 22, 2019
This is a Gestapo, since Kenyatta’s owned Brookside, with a majority share in the market, seems to be the one that is set to benefit majorly.
Here are some of the things that the cruel milk bill proposes:
- Prohibits farmers from selling their fresh milk to neighbors
- Farmers must first pasteurise their milk at farmgate before selling to consumers/neighbours
- In the absence of pasteurisation, farmers must take all their milk to a cooling facility
- Farmers are prohibited from selling their milk to hawkers (Is this a ploy to kill the Milk ATMs in supermarkets and elsewhere?)
- Price of milk from the dairy farmer will be based on quality, not quantity. The buyer will determine the quality
- Farmers will be held criminally liable should their milk have contaminants like aflatoxins. (Bear in mind that this is something the farmer has no control over. Aflatoxins and other contaminants in milk can be derived from purchased feed)
- A farmer will sell his milk to only one processor with whom he has a contract
- Processors are free to import milk at any time there is no enough milk from the local market. They will determine when the milk is not enough.
- A fine of Ksh 500,000 will be slapped on farmers flouting the rules
Kenyans online have joined farmers in expressing anger and dissatisfaction with some even calling for a revolution. Others have called for the boycott of milk altogether.