Until recently, chicken was the most preferred meat consumed in Kenya at 92 per cent followed by beef at 85 per cent and fish coming in third at 79 per cent. Slightly more expensive than beef and fish, chicken is the most preferred meat especially among the high-income households.
According to Kenya Market Trust (KMT), while noting that Kenyan beef is one of the most expensive in the world, says there was an additional 54,000 tonnes of beef in the market last year. However, KMT adds that this amount is still not enough for the market. “With an annual meat deficit of 300,000 tonnes, Kenya’s meat industry still largely operates sub-optimally, with huge post-harvest losses, low-value addition, poor processing skills and low capacity for quality and safety standards,” the study observes.
This partly explains why beef and veal are now more expensive than fish and chicken. At Naivas Supermarket’s Mayan Mall in Ongata Rongai, for instance, one kilogram of chicken from Kenchic retails at Sh750, while a similar amount of beef goes for Sh 820. At Quickmart supermarket, Ongata Rongai branch, a kilo of beef retails at Sh654 while a kilo of chicken goes for Sh561.
At most butcheries in Eastlands the price of chicken has remained relatively stable even while the price of beef has increased significantly. Broiler chicken – the cheapest and most popular for most middle-class families – is selling at between Sh450 and Sh500 a kilo, while beef goes for between Sh600 and Sh650.
The rise in beef prices is also being experienced in the high-end segment of the market that buys primal cuts. The hardest to be hit have been top hotels and restaurants that rely on cuts such as flank, loin, brisket, chuck, shank, rump and short plate.
Meat prices have been rising globally since 2020, for reasons related to Covid-19. In recent months, the cost of animal feeds locally has risen steeply owing to shortages in raw materials for making animal feeds, a consequence of the Covid-19 global pandemic. For years, Kenya has been importing the bulk of raw materials for the manufacture of animal feeds, including soya, sunflower, maize and wheat.
Whereas the government in 2021 announced a duty waiver for some of these raw materials, minimal effect has been realised as prices in the global market remain high. Also, drought has played a significant role in the rising cost of beef in the country. Death of hundreds of beef cattle from starvation in the predominantly beef-farming counties has affected the supply of beef in the country, pushing prices up.
The latest report by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) indicates a worsening drought situation in 19 out of 23 arid and semi-arid counties in Kenya in the fourth consecutive poor rainfall season since 2020. Kenya experiences an unprecedented local demand for beef, which stands at 648,000 tonnes against a local production capacity of 300,000 tonnes, according to the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO). Livestock contributes up to 12 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The sharp increase in demand is expected to inspire significant growth in the meat industry.
