Christmas: Why you may pay more for that meat
Booming livestock business at Kitengela slaughterhouse. A mature goat or sheep sells for between Sh15,000 and Sh20,000.
Meat lovers in parts of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area may be forced to pay more for the protein this festive season as the prices of livestock in Kajiado County shoot up.
Over the years, the pastoral Kajiado County has been one of the major meat suppliers to the metro area— Nairobi County, Kiambu County, Kajiado County, Machakos County and Murang'a County— with an annual turnover of Sh3.2 billion.
Hundreds of thousands of heads of cattle are traded annually in Kajiado livestock markets of Ilbisil, Shompole, Kimana and Emali.
However, the 2020-2022 severe drought left at least 800,000 animals dead and 350 families facing starvation, and the recent rains have not helped much with their restocking efforts.
Mr Stephen Nkabash, a livestock owner from Kajiado Central sub-County, on Saturday, told the Nation that with the availability of pasture, livestock keepers are not willing to sell the few animals that survived the drought.
"A handful of herders have few animals. With plenty of grass, they are not willing to sell but to fatten them anticipating high prices in January. Some want to breed their small herds," said Mr Nkabash.
Currently, there is a shortage of livestock in markets, and prices have doubled or even tripled.
In most livestock markets, a goat or a sheep, which used to go for Sh8,000, is retailing at between 15,000 and Sh20,000.
A mature cow is retailing at between Sh80,000 and Sh100,000, with a castrated mature bull fetching between Sh110,000 and Sh150,000.
Ilbisil slaughterhouse-cum-livestock market chairman James Ole Nkapapa said the prices of animals would shoot up even further at Christmas.
"There is a shortage of animals, especially cows, against the high demand towards Christmas. We expect the animal prices to increase further between now and the new year," said Ole Nkapapa.
Animal supplies from neighbouring Tanzania, which used to land at the Ilbisil market, have also declined after the devastating drought.
Booming livestock business at Kitengela slaughterhouse. A mature goat or sheep sells for between Sh15,000 and Sh20,000.
Traders at the market told the Nation that few are willing to import the animals due to the small profit margins involved.
Given the low supply, some traders said they were sourcing cows from as far as Taita Taveta and Ukambani region.
A Nation spot check at Kitengela slaughterhouse at the weekend indicated few animals against high demand. Most sheds were empty and the usually busy market was quiet, with low human traffic.
Mr James Ngumba, who had come to look for goats, said he had anticipated buying three for Christmas but ended up affording only two.
"I had a budget of Sh30,000 for three goats but I have been forced to buy two at Sh20,000 each. I had no option," he said.
The wholesale price of beef from local slaughterhouses has increased from Sh380 to Sh500 a kilo while mutton is going for Sh700 from Sh550 in September.
The price pain has been passed on to consumers, with butcheries in Kitengela town selling a kilo of beef at between Sh580 and Sh600 while mutton is retailing at Sh800 per kilogramme from Sh700 per kilo a few months ago.
"Christmas will be a luxury for many Kenyans this year. In case I manage kales and Ugali for my family I will thank God," Ms Joan Makau, hawker, told Nation, adding that the focus of many parents is how they will take their children back to school in January.
