Kenya's chai tea lovers are not happy as the nation's cows run dry
Kenya is experiencing a severe milk shortage, causing distress among its chai tea lovers and impacting businesses. The scarcity, attributed to drought and supply constraints, has led to empty supermarket shelves, increased prices, and rationing. This situation is unusual for Kenya, a leading milk producer in Africa.
Why it matters
The milk shortage highlights the vulnerability of food supply chains to climate change impacts like drought, affecting daily life, local economies, and potentially leading to social discontent in a country where milk is a staple.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Chai, made by boiling tea in generous amounts of milk, is sometimes flavoured with ginger and spices
Kenyans love their milky tea, or chai, but some are facing the worrying possibility of doing without as the country has been hit by a milk shortage.
A breakfast here is often incomplete without a cup of chai, made by boiling tea in generous amounts of milk, sometimes flavoured with ginger and spices. It is often served at meetings and during social visits, with many people taking the hot brew several times a day.
But now some may have to do without as supermarket chilled sections are nearly empty. Retailers have upped the price and are limiting how much shoppers can take home.
The government has put the dearth of milk in recent months down to drought, which has significantly reduced pasture and hampered production.
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