Speaking after the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, he also warned that if the market does not function as it should in order for farmers to have the proper remuneration for the cost of milk production, which at the moment is higher than the sale of the product in shops, livestock farms will close down.
The parliamentary committee, on the other hand, called on the government to faithfully implement all the laws and approved by the European Commission for the production of halalumi as a product with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) to combat "phenomena of promiscuity to certain economic interests".
The Minister of Agriculture, Costas Kadis and the Minister of Commerce, Natasha Pilidou, were invited to attend the Commission's meeting to provide information on the problems arising in connection with the marketing of halalumi as a PDO product and the measures to support producers.
Mr. Kadis said after the meeting that all EU countries had seen a significant increase in the price of milk, with the sole exception of Cyprus, where the price is marginally lower than last year, adding that the country "presents a pan-European novelty".
This means, he said, that while milk is produced with very expensive raw materials, it is sold at the same or even lower price.
According to Kadis, goat and sheep farmers have production costs close to €1.5 per litre, while milk is currently sold at €1.20. "This creates a huge problem, so the market has to work so that these people can also get the price they deserve for their product," he said.
In response to a question about how it is possible for the product to cost less than the cost of production and at the same time for halloumi to be more expensive, Kadis said, "Unfortunately, it is common knowledge that prices are set by the cheese dairies, so the goat farmers will get what the cheese makers will give them."
We believe, he said, that the dairies, whichhave also received state support to get rid of their stocks, should give the goat farmers prices that at least cover their costs.
Another paradox, he continued, is that while prices of all cheeses in Europe are going up, halloumi, has remained at the same level, and they have seen cases where prices have gone down.
"A higher price should be demanded for the product and farmers should be given what they deserve for their milk," he said."
Kadis said that proper controls, so that there is no adulteration or any other kind of distortion, are the mechanisms the government has at its disposal to curb the problem. If the product is produced normally it will fetch its price and the market will work, he said, warning that if there is no diversification "we will see livestock farms closing down".
He also said that they informed the commission that following checks by Ministry of Commerce officials in recent days, some preliminary results show that in certain samples there were deviations from those provided for in the relevant decree that establishes the specifications of the steel mill.
In these cases, he said, what is provided for in the legislation will be applied and the penalties that can be imposed are up to €150,000, depending on the case.
He also said that the Ministries of Commerce and Agriculture have made both services and financial resources available to the State Chemistry Department so that it can proceed as soon as possible with procedures to check the content of products bearing the name "halloumi" and prepared not with fresh milk, but with powder.
The Minister also indicated that they informed the Commission as to the intention of the two Ministries to move forward together, with a single way of controlling the production of halloumi in Cyprus, in a manner similar to the way PDO is controlled by the international organisation Bureau Veritas, in order to control the whole range of production of halloumi, whether it is PDO or produced on the basis of a trademark. Kadis said this would also be clarified by an opinion from the Legal Service as to whether a product bearing the name "halloumi" can be marketed under the trademark and not under the PDO, in accordance with the relevant EU regulations.
The Minister said the Commission was also informed about support measures for livestock farmers, given that, particularly sheep and goat farmers, "have been in a very unfavourable position in the recent period".
Cyprus was the first and one of the very few countries that have already taken a decision to support their farmers, he said, adding that by the end of the month sheep and goat farmers will receive a total of €5 million in support, while another €3 million will be given to other livestock sectors.
The ministry is also studying other measures to support sheep and goat farmers, he added.
"But what we have stressed is that the market must work, because it is a distortion that every time there is an increase in the cost of production, in raw materials such as feed, grain, the government has to cover these costs," the minister said. This cost, he said, is passed on to the whole chain and to the final products, "which we have not seen in the case of milk and halloumi."
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee, AKEL MP Giannakis Gavriel said that seven full months since the PDO was introduced for halloumi, "the government continues its delaying attitude and does not implement what the legislation provides for halloumi."
He said the absence of checks in previous years by the relevant authorities to ensure that the product was produced according to specifications left "scope for certain financial and other interests to run amok". He said the results of recent audits, which he said were carried out following "suffocating pressure" from both Parliament and the affected professional sectors, "unfortunately confirm what we denounced last year". He said that within 15 days, 40 checks were carried out, while in the previous 10 years there had been zero checks.
"We call once again on the government to faithfully implement everything provided for in the legislation and approved by the European Commission," he said. Only in this way, he concluded, will the foundations be laid and the prospects opened up for halloumi by its registration as a PDO product be exploited.
Source: CNA
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