On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 11:30 a.m., a pan-Cypriot gathering of Cattle Breeders will take place in the Amphitheater Hall ¨NIKOS MOUGIARIS¨, 23 Michail Georgiou, Athianou. The purpose of the gathering is to inform the producers, and to make relevant decisions. Representatives of parties, organizations and other bodies will be invited to participate in the meeting.
As stated in its extraordinary session, the Coordinating Committee of Cattle Breeders, examined recent publications in the domestic press regarding the new financial support of the occupied by the European Union, amounting to 39,5 million euros, with the greater part intended for the support of production and halloumi trading. He also discussed the statements of the General Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Andreas Grigoriou, that the Government's goal is that by 2029 halloumi production will include 51% goat and/or sheep milk.
It is now clear, it is noted, from the recent publications, that on the one hand we as the Republic of Cyprus have accepted the economic support of the occupied, which is affecting the economy of the free areas, and on the other hand, attempts are being made to eradicate cattle farming in the free areas by 2029, which favors unlawfully the production of halloumi in the occupied territories.
As stated, these actions are the culmination of the right granted, officially or unofficially, both by the Republic of Cyprus and by the European Union, to halloumi producers of the occupied countries, to market products without restrictions on the use of goat's and sheep's milk in third countries .
On the contrary, it is pointed out, the producers of the free zones are required to strictly adhere to quotas in the milk mixture used for all halloumi production regardless of destination (European Union and Third Countries), which increases production costs and creates conditions of unfair competition. It is noted that 75% of halloumi exports from the free zones are intended for third countries.
European Regulation 591/2021, which enshrines halloumi as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), applies to the entire territory of the Republic of Cyprus, including the occupied territories. "We cannot accept that, after 50 years of occupation and 20 years of membership in the European Union, we ended up strengthening the economy of the occupied with money from Cypriot and European citizens, while at the same time undermining the cheese-making of the free areas, which is one of the most successful sectors of our economy," it added.
The Cattle Breeders ask the European Union and the Republic of Cyprus for equal treatment of the dairy sector in the free and occupied areas. Since the goal of the Republic of Cyprus with aid to the occupied territories is the resolution of the Cyprus issue, it is stated, the same conditions should be applied to both regions until a definitive solution is found and the reunification of our homeland.
"We cannot tolerate in a semi-occupied homeland that the producers of the free areas are in a worse position than those of the occupied and, at the same time, contribute to the strengthening of the economy of the occupied through the European Union", it is added.