Halloumi exports top €350 million annually as Cyprus prepares for PDO compliance

Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus exports more than €350 million worth of halloumi annually, agriculture ministry permanent secretary Andreas Gregoriou told the House agriculture committee on Tuesday. Briefing members on the country’s national dairy product, he outlined government measures to meet protected designation of origin (PDO) requirements by July 2029.

Export continuity and PDO requirements

Gregoriou said protecting halloumi’s PDO status was a strategic priority for both the government and his ministry. He added that the government wanted exports to continue without interruption, noting that the industry supported thousands of jobs across Cyprus.

An extension granted by the European Commission in 2024 gave the government until 2029 to bring PDO halloumi into compliance with the rules governing its designation, he said. Those requirements include increasing the proportions of milk from sheep and goats in the finished product.

Gregoriou said the ministry had introduced a comprehensive programme during the transitional period, which ends in July 2029, to increase production of sheep and goat milk and strengthen oversight and monitoring.

Support for farmers and production limits

A €2m subsidy paid to sheep and goat farmers in December 2024 was intended to encourage investment that would reduce seasonal fluctuations in production, Gregoriou said. He added that legislation had been strengthened to ensure farmers followed PDO rules.

The government also planned to permit 26 new farms for sheep and goats on state-owned land, with approximately 800 animals at each farm. Gregoriou said the land had already been allocated to farmers.

He told the committee that annual government subsidies for sheep and goat farmers amounted to around €4m.

Meanwhile, the total volume of cow’s milk used to produce PDO halloumi had been held at 234,000 tonnes annually since 2024, he said.

Committees overseeing the process

Gregoriou said the government had established two committees to address the issue.

The first, an interdepartmental committee, brings together representatives of the agriculture, commerce and foreign ministries, alongside the legal service, the veterinary services department and the agriculture department. Its membership also includes halloumi expert Fotis Papadimas of the Cyprus University of Technology.

The second body, named the monitoring committee for halloumi PDO, includes representatives of the chamber of commerce (Keve), the cheesemakers’ association, groups representing sheep and goat farmers, groups representing cattle farmers, and other agricultural organisations, he said.