CYPRIOT DAIRY Company Charalambides has accused the Cypriot Association of Cattle Breeders of distorting the truth in the ongoing row over the import of milk from Greece.
According to a statement released from Charalambides Dairies, the Cattle Breeders wrongly implicated their company in the dispute.
“Charalambides Dairies announces that without any explanation as to why this has happened, the Cypriot Association of Cattle Breeders have incorrectly implicated our company in the issue of the import of cow milk from Greece,” the statement read. “We has never imported cow milk from Greece and do not plant to do so, therefore we cannot understand how and why the Cattle Breeders’ Association have associated us in this case.”
According to the initial reports in the press, the companies, Christis and Charalambides Dairies –owned by Greek food group Vivartia – reportedly refused to agree to a 0.5 cent per litre increase on the price of milk imposed by the Cattle Breeding Association, leading to them importing milk from Greece, something that enraged the local breeders.
Charalambides claims that it has a separate agreement with 35 cattle breeders that are independent from the Association and it was planning to consult its legal advisors before deciding what further action it would take.
In a separate announcement, Christis Dairies also put their side of the story across, explaining the reasons behind their decision to take the Cattle Breeders’ Association to the competition watchdog.
“On Monday June 4, 2007 we appealed to the Competition Committee over the actions of the Cypriot Cattle Breeders’ Association for violating the existing agreements on the purchase of fresh cow milk and collaborating with competitors Lanitis and Pittas, resulting in the drastic reduction of the amount of milk it supplied our company daily, from some 75-80 tonnes to just 10,” their statement said.
Christis have also claimed that the import of milk from Greece has in no way affected the quality of their products on the Cypriot market and that they have continued to work in close association with all relevant authorities.
Agriculture Minister Fotis Fotiou said last week that “everything is legal and there is nothing else to discuss”.
The other issue that arose from the price row was over the branding and documentation of milk. While under EU law nothing can stop the import of milk from another member state, authorities have been concerned in case of the existence of an illegal ring looking to profiteer from bringing in milk from other countries under the identity of Greek milk, similar to the illegal meat scam uncovered in the run-up to Easter.
In order to avoid a similar case, the Health Services had called for the branding of milk coming from abroad, something that Christis have claimed to have no problem with.
“Our company is currently awaiting the decision from the authorities on the issue of branding, a decision which we will be adopting once it has been given to us,” they said.
