Greeks and Cypriots save money on cheeses

Greeks have reduced their consumption of protected designation of origin (PDO) feta by more than 70%, while Cypriots prefer cheap imported grilled cheese instead of halloumi.

Greek households are choosing more affordable options for white cheese, which is made from inexpensive (often imported) milk, and inexpensive imported cheeses such as gouda. They are moving away from the more expensive PDO feta, which has traditionally been an important part of our country's diet.

Even special offers that supermarkets make from time to time, with prices ranging from 9 to 10 euros per kilogram of feta PDOcannot convince consumers who believe that their income does not allow them to buy this product.

A similar, and perhaps more serious, situation is observed in the Cypriot market, where Consumption of halloumi, the mega-island's staple cheese product, is also declining. I wonder what Cypriots choose cheap imported cheese instead of traditional halloumi PDO.

Stelios Sarantis, Managing Director of the Hellenic Dairies Group, talks about reducing feta consumption by 70%. This is confirmed by the results of a recent study carried out by the Competition Commission on the feta market in Greece. Over almost a year and a half (from January 23, 2023 to June 31, 2024), sales of branded feta products fell from about 85% at the beginning of the period under review to 79% at the end, the independent body reported.

“In Greece, about 80 thousand tons of feta were previously consumed, and about 40 thousand tons were exported. Now the situation is the opposite: almost 90 thousand tons are exported, and 30 thousand tons are consumed in the domestic markete,” notes Mr. Sarantis.

Feta exports continue to grow and are estimated to increase by 6% this year. Already from the beginning of 2024 until the end of July exports of “white gold”, as our national cheese is called, increased by 7% compared to the same period last year.

It should be noted that based on the balance of current transactions in the agri-food sector, feta brought 1 billion euros to our countrybased on 2023 indicators. For comparison, exactly ten years ago, in 2014, feta exports amounted to only 142 million euros. That is, during the period 2013–2024, export sales of feta increased by 700%!

At the same time halloumi has become the second most important export product of Cyprus: the total market value of this category is 300 million euros. This amount is almost entirely attributable to exports, as 97% of the island's halloumi production is sent to overseas markets. It is worth noting that the total production of halloumi in Cyprus in 2023 reached 43,000 tons.

In addition to the changes caused global dietary trends, which undoubtedly affected Greek consumers as well, the reasons for the sharp decline in feta consumption are mainly related to the price of the product. Now feta has become a luxury item for a significant part of the population of our country. According to ELSTATthe increase in prices for cheeses, of which feta is the most popular, reached 39.3% between 2021 and 2023.

In 2024 – from January to September – there was a slight correction in cheese prices: -2.14%. Despite this, feta remains at least 30% more expensive than at the start of 2022.

Source link