A severe drought has left Kenyan supermarket shelves stripped of fresh milk, disrupting the country's deep-rooted culture of chai — a milky spiced tea consumed multiple times daily and central to social life across the nation. The Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) has acknowledged "supply constraints" and "low stock levels" nationwide, with formal milk deliveries to processors falling from 84.4 million litres in June to 81.3 million litres in July, and a further decline expected in August; prices have meanwhile risen by roughly 15%, and retailers are rationing supplies. Kenya's agriculture ministry has pledged emergency measures including duty-free importation of animal feed and is considering temporary milk imports from neighbouring countries, while consumer groups warn that inadequate stockpiling of powdered milk last year made the crisis both foreseeable and avoidable.