Filenews 21 November 2021 - by Adamos Adamou
Until the first seven months of the year, the pandemic did not affect Cypriot exports, which continued their upward trend, recording double-digit growth, including exports of petroleum products. Based on the data presented by the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry Natasha Pilidou last Thursday during a press conference at the Presidential Palace on the work achieved in the last year in her ministry, the value of exports in the first seven months of 2021 records an increase of 17.8%, including petroleum products, compared to the same period last year, while excluding petroleum products, there is an annual increase of 8%.
Specifically, exports, including petroleum products, in the first seven months amounted to €884 million compared to €750 million last year, while excluding petroleum products, exports are estimated at €665 million over the same period this year, and €615 million in the first seven months of 2020.
The Ministry of Energy considers significant the increase recorded during the period under review in new markets, such as those of Italy, Austria and France. Based on the data presented by Mrs. Pilidou, in the first seven months of this year, compared to last year, exports to Israel recorded an increase in relation to their value by 46.8%, to Italy by 44.9%, to France 31.1%, to Austria 23.3% and to Greece, which is a traditional market for Cypriot exports, an increase of 18%.
Regarding products, medicines and juices, which are among the main export products of the country, they both record a decrease of about 5% compared to last year, while potato exports in value recorded an increase of 7.5% in the first seven months compared to last year.
Exports of cheese, including halloumi, of 5.2%, are also increased, while scrap metals recorded a remarkable increase of 98% and copper fragments, which show an increase of 166% compared to the first seven months last year.
Based on data collected by the Ministry of Energy, the increase in exports in the first seven months is due to both the increase in export volume and the increase in prices. In cheeses/halloumi cheeses, however, the volume of exports increased by 4.2%, while as mentioned the value of exports increased by 5.2%, so it follows that the 7-month increase is not due to increases in the price of the product.
Competition for halloumi
Especially for halloumi, the Ministry of Energy, on the occasion of its relatively recent registration as a protected designation of origin (PDO) product, proceeds to actions to further strengthen its exports. As Mrs. Pilidou announced on Thursday, in November they will shortly announce a relevant tender for the formulation of a strategy for the promotion of halloumi as a PDO.
According to information provided by "F", the competition will be announced from week to week, with the aim of having proposals in the direction set by the competition by the end of the month. In order to boost exports, the Ministry of National Defence is proceeding with a series of other actions and measures, within the framework of the new trade policy 2021-2023 for the further promotion of Cypriot products and services and for the support of business extroversion.
In this context, the Ministry is already implementing the National Action Plan for the promotion of Cypriot wine, while the Minister also recalled the competition for the creation of a brand "Made in Cyprus" for Cypriot products and services, a project that is also in its final phase. He also referred to the upgrading of the Export Help Desk and shopping centres abroad for better promotion of exports and products and revealed that so far this year there have been 290 applications from 87 businesses of export interest, compared to 200 applications from 72 companies in the whole of 2020, as part of the operation of the Export Helpdesk (EHD) service.
