After the extraordinary protest event in which goat and sheep farmers arrived today outside the Ministry of Agriculture, the extra quantities of milk were finally received, the President of the Goat and Sheep Farmers Group, Sotiris Kadis, told KYPE.
He added that “today an extraordinary protest event was held by sheep and goat farmers from all the provinces of the free Cyprus, outside the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment. The reason for the protest was the refusal of the cheesemakers to receive the most quantities of milk produced by the goat and sheep farmers”.
In response to a related question, Mr. Kadis said that “the goat and sheep farmers they responded to the call of the state and the cheesemakers to produce more milk, but the cheesemakers were not receiving the full amount. Today, through the mediation of the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, to whom we thank, it was arranged and the milk was received from the cheesemakers”.
But this, he continued, “is not a solution to the existing problem. We hope that after today's intervention by the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, the cheesemakers will continue to receive the extra milk of the goat and sheep farmers”.
As Mr. Kadis said “our position is the implementation of the legislation and we hope that after the meeting with the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulidis on June 4th, that all the involved bodies will have, he will clarify the issue of the quota of sheep and goat milk in halloumi and the problem will be solved once and for all.”
The Ministry of Agriculture calls on the Ministry of Agriculture to cooperate to protect halloumi PDO
The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment calls for the cooperation of all the involved bodies in order to ensure the viability of all those active in the halloumi production sector, on the occasion of a protest event by goat and sheep farmers on Friday.
“The cooperation of all those involved is for the benefit of the protection of the product”, says the Ministry of Agriculture in a statement, which at the same time assures that “it is working to safeguard the PDO halloumi file by defending the safeguarding of the product's reputation and strengthening the protection of of its name from imitation products”.
It also mentions that during this period, the Decree is in force where the minimum proportion of goat's and sheep's milk is 25% in the raw materials which are used to make halloumi.
He adds that recently and after February 21, 2024, increased controls are being carried out in cheese factories by the mandated services.
“In the context of the increase in checks both quantitatively and qualitatively, additional inspectors have been authorized and are in the process of training”, concludes the Ministry of Agriculture.
Source: KYPE
