Cyprus Mail 19 July 2022 - by Iole Damaskinos
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| Calling the five-and-a-half hour meeting “historic”, the minister said that all stakeholders have now been convinced of the long-term benefits of following the PDO (product of designated origin) route |
Speaking on CyBC radio Tuesday morning, Minister of Agriculture, Costas Kadis, said that full agreement on the controversial topic of PDO-certified halloumi has been reached, following Monday night’s meeting.
For an initial transitional period, products may be labelled “halloumi” as long as they contain at least 10 per cent goat and sheep milk, quickly ramping up to 20 per cent, as goat and sheep farmers increase their animal stocks. The final PDO label stipulates 50 per cent sheep and goat milk/50 per cent cow milk, and initially this was expected to be in place by 2023.
Calling the five-and-a-half hour meeting “historic”, the minister said that all stakeholders have now been convinced of the long-term benefits of following the PDO (product of designated origin) route.
Kadis expects that as from today, big dairy producers will begin to register in the system en masse, so that by end of August the only halloumi available on supermarket shelves will be PDO-certified.
Asked about the transitional period, Kadis said he believed all dairy farmers stood to benefit from it, including cow farmers, and that although there may be a temporary dip in production, in the long run the certified labelling would raise the value of halloumi and increase profits.
Raising the fact of historical references to halloumi production on the island as early as the 15th century, Kadis expressed satisfaction that securing the PDO label was rescued from defeat at the “eleventh hour” and emphasised that halloumi came very close to being termed a generic product which any country could produce.
Asked whether there were concerns about competition from non PDO halloumi-style cheeses being produced and sold to countries outside the EU, Kadis said that even in Cyprus producers would continue to be free to develop and sell a new line of cheeses, similar to halloumi, which would be given other names.
Cyprus can counter and compete with copy-cat cheeses labelled halloumi by employing a strategy of moving PDO-certified halloumi into these third-country markets, Kadis maintained.
As for halloumi produced in the north, the minister said arrangements could be made for its quality control, certification, and subsequent transfer across the green line for export, which had the potential to also benefit Turkish Cypriot farmers and producers willing to enrol in the PDO system.
