Greek feta has evolved into "white gold" thanks to export

“The cost of feta and the retail price today are really high because the cost of production is high and if all the links in the production chain are not supported, we will not have a product,” said National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives President Achaia P. Satolias.

The president of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Achaia, P. Satolias, compared feta to “white gold” for the Greek economy, citing the growth of exports in recent years as more countries open their markets to the “queen” of Greek cheeses.

«Around 65% of the country's annual feta production is now destined for export,” Pavlos Satolias said in an interview with the newspaper “Peloponnisos”:“In the current account balance of the agri-food sector, feta cheese has brought our country 1 billion euros, based on data for 2023. We are talking about a dynamic product that is constantly growing, offering prospects for both the manufacturer and the processing industry of our country.”

This “white gold” of the country”, said, in particular, Pavlos Satolias: “It is significant that in 2014 feta exports amounted to 142 million euros, and in 2023 they will amount to almost 1 billion, we are talking about an increase of about 700%, and that is why we must protect it from fraud, from misleading. This is a constant problem, feta has to be authentic. There is only one way. A strict legislative framework that will serve as a deterrent. Nobody can play games with our country. An import that was not carried out with perspective and with a health protocol, as other serious countries do.”

The ΕΘΕΑΣ chairman also mentioned other types of feta, saying that they are not of the same quality, stressing: “It is impossible that a slice of the same quality and production in our country would cost less abroad. Those who say that feta is cheaper abroad – this is not that fetawith a different production method that does not fall within the scope of the POP,” he said, indirectly but clearly referring to the issue of misleading names given to feta, yellow cheese or cheese without the proportion of sheep's and goat's milk provided for by the Community regulation.

P.S. Mr. Satolias did not explain the situation when the original Greek product is sold on store shelves in other countries in packaging with all the codes required for the product cheaper than in Greek supermarkets. But that's a completely different story.

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