Kenya's milk shortage: Chai lovers unhappy as cows run dry - BBC News

Supermarket shelves are emptying, sellers are rationing supplies and prices are rising.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage 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.