Urban raw milk sales and hawking are banned under the Dairy Industry Regulations, 2021. The only legal raw milk pathway is a narrow rural exception: producers may sell small quantities directly to neighboring consumers without resale. Active enforcement campaign underway as of 2026.
Kenya's dairy sector is regulated by the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) under the Dairy Industry Act (Cap. 336). The Dairy Industry Regulations, 2021 (Legal Notice No. 22, gazetted February 2021) set the current framework: all milk sold to consumers through commercial channels must be pasteurized, aseptic-processed, or retort-sterilized. One narrow exception exists: a producer may sell small quantities of raw milk directly to neighboring consumers in rural areas, provided the milk is not resold.
"Milk hawking" (the informal itinerant trade in raw milk by unlicensed intermediaries who buy from farms and resell to urban consumers) has been the primary enforcement target. In May 2026, Agriculture and Livestock Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced a nationwide crackdown backed by Ksh 1.43 billion in infrastructure investment, deploying 230 bulk milk coolers to channel milk through cooperatives and formal collection systems. Approximately 80% of Kenyan milk still moved through informal channels as of 2025–2026, but the combination of a clear statutory prohibition and active enforcement investment marks Kenya as one of the more restrictive regulatory environments for raw milk in East Africa. The 2026 crackdown follows a 2013 hawking ban that was suspended in 2019 due to controversy and lack of enforcement capacity before being reinstated under the 2021 regulations.
Latest developments and news related to raw milk in Kenya
Kenya has banned informal raw milk sales (hawking), restricting direct farm-to-consumer distribution in favor of processed milk through formal channels, citing health concerns while protecting corporate dairy processors.
Read Article →Official government documents and legal resources for Kenya
Current regulatory framework for Kenya's dairy sector, gazetted February 2021 under the Dairy Industry Act (Cap. 336). Sets pasteurization requirements for commercial milk sales and defines the narrow rural farm-direct exception.
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