Cypriot sheep and goat farmers are preparing to challenge any attempt to reduce the proportion of small-ruminant milk required in halloumi, after being told that the current quota will remain in force in 2029.
Neofytos Neofytou, president of the Voice of Livestock Farmers association, said the organisation had received information that halloumi’s Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) requirement would continue to specify a minimum of 51% sheep and goat milk. The provision is central to the relationship between halloumi production and Cyprus’s sheep and goat farming sector.
Farmers prepare objections
According to Mr Neofytou, cheesemakers are expected to write to the relevant authorities seeking a change to the milk ratio. The association is opposed to that proposal and intends to respond through both individual submissions from farmers and a collective objection.
He expressed confidence that the European Union would accept the farmers’ arguments and that the existing requirement would not be altered. The comments were reported by CNA and concerned the future operation of the PDO specification in 2029.
“If everyone does not help rebuild the sheep and goat farming sector, halloumi will be lost,”
Mr Neofytou urged cheesemakers and cattle farmers to contribute to efforts to rebuild the livestock sector. His warning linked the continued production of halloumi with the viability of the farms supplying sheep and goat milk, rather than treating the milk ratio as solely a matter for processors.
Sector representation
The Voice of Livestock Farmers said that 95% of its members are sheep and goat farmers. Mr Neofytou also stressed that the association represents livestock farming more broadly, operates on a voluntary and not-for-profit basis, and is not aligned with any political party.
- The current halloumi PDO specification is reported to retain a 51% sheep and goat milk requirement in 2029.
- Cheesemakers are expected to seek a change to the ratio.
- The Voice of Livestock Farmers plans individual and collective objections.
The dispute places the supply of sheep and goat milk at the centre of discussions over halloumi’s future specification. For farmers, the association’s position is that maintaining the quota is necessary alongside wider efforts to restore the sector that supplies the protected cheese.
