Cyprus’s agriculture ministry is facing a choice between changing halloumi production standards or raising the required goat and sheep milk quota to 50%.
Media reports suggest the ministry is under time pressure to act quickly to protect halloumi’s status as a Protected Designation of Origin, or PDO, product.
Some critics charge that sucessive governments have shown indifference and delay since the product was registered in 2014, leaving the sector in a difficult position as cow’s milk has become more available than sheep and goat milk. A recent decree keeps the milk quota at 15% from May of last year through the end of 2026, with less than three years remaining before a transition period expires.
The daily Fileleftheros said the ministry has two options. The first is to move quickly on a request from halloumi and cheese producers to change PDO standards, allowing time to complete lengthy national and EU approval procedures. The second, if no request for change is submitted, is to raise the minimum goat and sheep milk quota gradually through ministerial decrees, reaching more than 50% by July 2029.
The paper said the ministry’s planning is focused on the first option — pursuing a change to the product’s standards.
Media reports suggest the central obstacle has been long-running disagreement between sheep and goat farmers, cattle farmers, and halloumi and cheese producers over whether enough of the three required milk types can be produced. More than 90% of production is exported to other EU countries or third countries, and that producers argue current sheep and goat milk output isn’t sufficient to meet a requirement that it exceed cow’s milk in every halloumi maker’s supply.
The issue arose after a 10-year transition period for meeting the standards expired in 2024, prompting Cyprus to use EU provisions extending the transition to 2029. It said rising cow’s milk production relative to sheep and goat milk has made a change to the standards almost unavoidable, and producers are being urged to submit a formal request.
