Agriculture Minister, Rural Development and Environment Minister Costas Kadis assured Cypriot consumers that there is a sufficient supply of good quality lambs and at very low prices, adding that consumers "have nothing to fear".
At the same time, in statements during his visits to supermarkets ahead of the Easter holidays, Kadis stressed that the government had supported sheep and goat farmers with €5 million, who did not pass on the high huge feed prices to the rest of the agri-food chain.
"The supply is sufficient we have Cypriot lambs which are at very low prices and that was the event, if you like, that led the government to support the sheep and goat farmers. While we have had huge increases in the cost of lamb production, with increases in feed of 70%, we do not see this cost being passed on to the whole agri-food chain," Kadis said in his statement.
"What does this mean?" he continued, "it means that the goat and sheep farmer is bearing the whole burden of the increases in feed. That is why the Government has seen fit to support our sheep and goat farmers with a sum of €5 million, so as to give the market time to work and to distribute the costs evenly, I would say, throughout the agri-food chain. But there is certainly no issue of sufficiency."
At the same time, Kadis pointed out that this year there is a relatively small increase in the consumption of Cypriot lambs, especially due to the low price, if compared to Greek lamb, which is sold at higher prices, which is why the import of Greek lamb was limited this year.
In response to a question, the Minister of Agriculture attributed the reduced import of Greek lamb to the higher costs due to the high transport costs. The Cypriot products are excellent in terms of quality and this is demonstrated by the controls that we carry out throughout Cyprus," he added.
[/P]The Minister of Agriculture noted that intensive controls have started since the 16th of the month and from the production sites to the meat distribution sites and will continue until the end of the month.
As for the fruit restaurants, Mr. Kadis said that they are presenting a similar picture and that no problems, either in terms of sufficiency or quality, have been presented or recorded.
"Therefore, what I would say and advise Cypriot consumers is to be careful in their purchases, to buy from approved outlets, either meat products or perishables, and they have nothing to fear, they can choose high quality products and have them on the Easter table," he concluded.
Source: CNA
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