The Greek feta cheese market is facing a difficult equation. The zoonotic diseases of sheep pox and foot-and-mouth disease have significantly reduced livestock numbers and the available supply of sheep’s milk — the primary raw material for feta production — at a time when international orders remain strong. On the domestic market, consumers are paying more for the product while buying fewer kilos. Behind the rise in revenue, therefore, lies a more complex picture of production and demand.
Read: Warning bells for feta: Prices up by as much as €2 per kilo due to reduced milk production
Feta prices rise as production declines
Speaking at a conference of the Panhellenic Exporters Association earlier this week, Michalis Sarantis, President of the National Interprofessional Organization of Feta, outlined the impact that animal diseases have had on the livestock sector over the past two years. According to the data he presented, total losses amount to approximately 500,000 animals that were culled as part of disease-control measures. He made particular reference to Mytilene, where around 80,000 animals were slaughtered.
Based on the organization’s estimates, sheep’s milk production has fallen by approximately 80,000 tonnes, creating a shortfall equivalent to roughly 20,000 tonnes of feta. This represents significant pressure on the raw material supply of a product that continues to enjoy strong presence in international markets. According to Sarantis, exports are growing by around 7% this year, while inventory levels among producers remain low.
Sales revenues on the rise
His assessment that available stocks may not be sufficient to last through to the end of the year reflects the intensity of the pressure, though it does not mean that a widespread shortage has already been confirmed in the market. He noted that international customers continue to demand feta even as prices have risen considerably. A telling indicator of this foreign market demand is the fact that feta sales are growing at an average rate of approximately 7% per year. Sarantis cautioned, however, that steep price increases cannot continue indefinitely without consequences for consumption.
Available domestic market data suggests that those consequences are already visible. In the first 30 weeks of 2026, through 26 July, the value of feta sales increased by 2.7%, reaching €174.6 million, up from €170.1 million in the same period last year. However, volumes sold fell by 3.3%, to 14.9 million kilos from 15.4 million kilos. The difference is explained by the average price, which rose by 6.2% to €11.75 per kilo, up from €11.07. Revenue growth, therefore, is being driven by price increases rather than higher consumption. There is some indication that the decline in demand is moderating, as the volume drop reached 4.2% in April. The market is nonetheless still selling less feta than it did a year ago.
Promotional offers are gradually returning to supermarket shelves. The share of revenue generated through promotional activity reached 24.9% in July, up from 22.4% in April. It remains, however, well below the 32.9% recorded in the same period last year. This trend suggests that producers are attempting to stimulate demand in a market where higher prices are putting pressure on household budgets.
Within this environment, packaged feta is performing better than loose feta sold by weight. Packaged feta sales rose by 7.7% in value to €58.97 million, and by 1.6% in volume to 4.59 million kilos. By contrast, loose feta recorded only a marginal 0.3% increase in revenue to €115.67 million, with volumes declining by 5.3%. The market share of packaged feta by value consequently rose to 33.8%, up from 32.2% a year ago.
Key market players
These shifts are also reflected in company performance. Leading the market is the Kalavryta Cooperative, with sales of €26.29 million, up 10.5%, and a 15.1% market share. It is followed by Optima (feta “Epirus”) with €21.58 million and a 12.4% share, though it recorded a 3.7% decline in sales. “Dodoni” posted growth of 2.8% to €21.24 million, recovering from the negative performance it had been showing through April. “Valma” from Halkidiki is also on an upward trajectory, with revenue growing by 12.6% to €8.95 million and volume up by 8.2%. Its growth in packaged feta is particularly striking, with sales rising by 36.4%. Meanwhile, private-label feta is down 2.5% in value to €17.62 million.
The critical question for the industry is how quickly livestock numbers can be rebuilt. Sarantis estimated that it will take at least two years for sheep’s milk production to return to previous levels. As a means of rebuilding herds, he pointed to the option of farmers retaining more animals, while urging caution regarding any potential imports of livestock due to the specifications of feta as a PDO product, which requires that milk be sourced from specific geographic areas.
Published in MoneyPro, the financial supplement of Parapolitika newspaper
