Greece recognizes feta cheese made by Russian farmer

Russian feta received a gold medal from the Greek gastronomy organization Greek Taste Beyond Borders, Business FM has learned. Group of companies “Druzhba” from the Nizhny Novgorod region won in the nomination “Aboriginal Greek taste”, according to bfm.ru

The farm was founded only three years ago and is now preparing to launch mass production. Its leader Yuri Iliadi has Greek roots. Concurrently, he is the chairman of the commission of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry for foreign economic cooperation with partners in Greece. According to him, it is difficult to implement the import substitution of Greek cheeses in Russia – there are few small cattle. Sanctions also interfere, notes Yuri Iliadi. RThe head of the Druzhba group of companies says:

“I brought animals from Spain. I wanted to bring it from Greece, but the Greeks, my countrymen, are lazy, slovenly people, I did not manage to work with them. Then, due to covid, we could not deliver the second batch. At the end of January, the batch was already ready for shipment, 600 heads of it were quarantined. And I was already supposed to leave, but a special operation began – and I was refused. The Spaniards, of course, went too far: what sanctions can be imposed against me? As a result, I spat on them, found good breeding French-Dutch goats in St. Petersburg, in Stavropol. There is at least some movement with goats, because goats are becoming fashionable. And the sheep are very bad. The branded balls are all mostly made from sheep’s and goat’s milk. When Belarusians sell cow’s milk feta, it’s ridiculous. A study commissioned by an affiliated company with Rosselkhozbank showed that there are 37,000 breeding goats throughout Russia. The number of goats per little Greece is 3.2 million heads. You will not find a farm with more than 100 goats in Russia. What is 100 goats? Even the local market will be in short supply. According to the conditions that I copied in Greece, I still make cheeses in an experimental, manual mode. And since August 20, we are launching our large cheese factory – 9 tons of milk per shift. 1200 rubles per kilogram. A jar of 400 grams, roughly speaking, – 400 rubles. I’ll tell you the following static data: until 2014, 2,000 tons of feta were brought from Greece, and it cost a lot in Russia: in retail, I looked, in Stavropol it reached 25 euros per kilogram in 2013. After 2014, when bilateral sanctions were introduced, now this feta does not exist at all. This is an empty niche, so I occupy it. ”

It is worth noting that, according to the judgment of the European Court, the name “Feta” is authentic name for products manufactured only in Greece. However, given the fact that Russia and Greece now have complex, if not hostile, relations, the countries are clearly not in the mood for a showdown over the name “Feta”. However, Yuri Iliadi is an ethnic Greek (Pontic), so we can assume that there is a piece of Greece in him 🙂 .

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