Covid-19 hits soft drinks and milk sales

The partial closure of the economy, including schools and hotels, to contain the spread of Covid-19 has devastated producers of milk and soft drinks.

New data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that formal milk intake and soft drink production declined by at least a fifth in the period when the country enforced stringent social containment measures.

As at end of March, the month that President Uhuru Kenyatta announced measures to contain the virus spread, including closure of entertainment facilities, soft drink production declined by 19.4 per cent to 49.5 million litres.

In the same month last year, Kenya produced 61.4 million litres of soft drinks, which include soda and juices.

Milk output by formal processors declined by 22 per cent by end of June, with 40.25 million litres produced compared to 52.33 million litres in the same month last year, according to KNBS leading economic indicators for June.

Last year, milk sales boosted the earnings for cooperative societies whose total sales increased marginally to Sh10.6 billion from Sh10.6 billion in 2018.