A DISPUTE over the price of milk has threatened to escalate into a full-scale row similar to the illegal meat scam that made newspaper headlines in the run-up to Easter earlier this year.
The crisis relates to a disagreement between two local dairy companies and the Cypriot Cattle Breeding Association over an increase in the price of milk. The companies, Christis and Charalambides Dairies – that are 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.
The company then moved to import milk from Greece, something that has enraged the Cattle Breeders. Furthermore, the issue has caused disagreements over the branding of milk coming from the EU in order to ensure that a situation similar to the one created by the meat from Bulgaria that entered Cyprus via Greece is averted.
The illegal meat story, reported by Phileleftheros at the end of March, involved a batch of 950 imported slaughtered lambs that did not originate from Greece and had been bred in Bulgaria or Romania. Documents from the importer, claiming that the meat originated from Greece, did not match original documents in the hands of the Greek authorities, indicating that the meat came from a third country.
This is the first time that fresh milk from another country has been imported to Cyprus. The milk has been checked by the Veterinary Services who claim that there is nothing wrong with it and has been declared fit for consumption.
Rumours have circulated that the milk does not originate from Greece and could come from Bulgaria, while authorities are calling for the branding of milk in a way similar to meat. During a meeting yesterday between all interested parties, the Health Services, after consultations with the Attorney-general, have called for fresh milk coming from another country to include the necessary documentations that indicate its country of origin.
The Cattle Breeders’ Association are also unhappy at the treatment they have received from Christis and Charalambides Dairies, as well as fearing that other companies might follow suit, causing chaos in the Cypriot milk market that according to the breeders is a “model that other countries aspire to follow”.
The Association maintains that Cyprus should not resort to such a policy on milk, citing the example of Greece as a case to be avoided at all costs.
“The tactic of big diary companies pressuring milk producers has been used in Greece, resulting in the Greek competition authorities now looking into the matter,” the statement read.
The Cattle Breeders also note that the price increase they asked for was minimal in relation to the increase in the prices of bottled milk that the companies have carried out.
“For the record, since 1997 the price by which milk is sold by producers has increased just 3.5 cents per litre, while in the last five years alone, the two dairy companies in question have increased the price they sell pasteurised milk by 24 cents a litre,” said their statement.
Greek company Vivartia, which owns 75 per cent of Charalambides and acquired 46 per cent of Christis Dairies in April, has reported the Cattle Breeders’ Association to the Competition Commission as it claims that it has illegally co-operated with Pittas Dairies.
After yesterday’s meeting, Agriculture Minister Photis Photiou agreed to act as a mediator in order to achieve a compromise between the two sides.
“I will have a meeting between both sides on Monday in a bid to find common ground for an agreement on the issue of the branding and origin of imported milk,” he said. “The dispute that has come to light does not benefit anybody, neither the producers nor the companies, and especially not the consumers.”
