Problems will arise from the poor registration of halloumi as a Protected Designation of Origin and halloumi must be registered in a way that will develop exports and the national economy and not reduce and fix them, he said, among other things, at a meeting organized today by Association of Cattle Breeders entitled "Registration of halloumi: increase or cut of exports".
A press release sent to the media by the Association states that at the meeting the speakers suggested that the ideal solution to the issue is the Government and the State in general "even the last to realize the catastrophe that will occur in the economy, and away from selfishness and micropolitical interests to withdraw the existing file and create a new file, after studying what really benefits the place based on the real data and guided by the interest of the economy ".
Among other things, data were presented from the report prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Development and Environment on "Strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture to meet the needs of goat / sheep milk", which show that the halloumi file as sent in July 2014 to European Commission "will not only be a brake on the further development of halloumi exports, but will drastically reduce exports and therefore the level of production".
The speakers, it is reported, focused on the negative consequences that a bad record of halloumi will have on dairy companies, producers, but also on the national economy in general.
According to the Association, the insufficiency of raw and sheep milk was reported in relation to the trend of increasing demand for halloumi, which in the last year and a half is of the order of 26,5% with a corresponding increase in foreign exchange imports.
It was also emphasized that various types of halloumi which were developed over time due to consumer preferences, such as light halloumi, burger halloumi, block halloumi, cubes halloumi, halloumi slices, halloumi with flavors of basil, pepper, chilli, etc. which account for around 35% of halloumi production, are not included in the dossier submitted to the European Commission.
According to the speakers, there are breeds of goats and sheep which are mixed in sheep and goat farms and which are not included in the halloumi dossier. The Ministry of Agriculture, it was reported, "refuses to disclose the extent of this problem despite the fact that it should have registered the livestock units whose milk can be used for the production of halloumi".
The speakers also referred to the possible adverse consequences that the registration of the halloumi file as a product of Protected Designation of Origin will have with the existing provisions. Among other things, the following was mentioned:
Immediate upheaval in the International Market, drastic reduction of halloumi exports and foreign exchange imports, halting the growth rate of halloumi exports and foreign exchange imports, termination of the promotion of halloumi since there will be a specific production opportunity for a specific season, drastic increase in price with unpredictable and other.
Speakers at the meeting were the President of the Cheesemakers Association George Petrou, representatives of two of the longest-lived and largest halloumi companies, Eleftherios Gavriilidis (Director of Gavrielides Foods based in Finland) and Peter John (Peter John) in the United Kingdom) as well as the General Director of POA, Nikos Papakyriakou.
KYPE source