Over 250,000 sheep and goats have died due to the pox outbreak affecting these animals, leaving farmers in despair. Consumers are equally distressed as prices skyrocket daily. The Ministry of Rural Development is monitoring this major crisis and reports that it may even proceed with a lockdown, banning any commercial activity for an indefinite period. Cheese maker Pavlos Lathyris from the Agricultural Cooperative of Lamia sounded the alarm about exploding prices. As he characteristically stated, “feta will compete with beef, with the price per kilo expected to exceed €17.”
Read more: Tsiaras on sheep pox: Some hide cases, thus spreading the disease (Video)
Major price increases will also occur in meat, yogurt, graviera cheese, and generally all dairy products. As he characteristically noted, “feta will compete with beef, with the price per kilo expected to exceed €17.” Significant increases will also affect meat prices, yogurt, graviera, and generally all cheese products.
Nikos Tachas on Parapolitika 90.1 about feta prices due to sheep and goat pox outbreak
It should be noted that the president of Greek cheese companies, Nikos Tachas, analyzed on Parapolitika 90.1 in the show “Apenanti Mikrofona” with Sotiris Xenakis and Vasilis Skouris, the impact of the sheep and goat pox on feta prices and market prospects. “Look, as you know, feta is a protected product, which means that the feta currently in supermarkets is at least two months old in production. Of course, it existed then too. Recently, it has been customary for raw material prices – milk purchasing prices – to change traditionally from October 1st each year until September 30th of the following year. During this period, there is a process that will determine the prices at which we will buy milk from October 1st, 2025, until September 30th, 2026.
When asked how much feta costs per kilo and how much the milk being purchased costs and where it will go, he replied: “Sheep’s milk that cheese dairies and dairy industries are currently buying is around €1.40 to €1.45 per kilo. To make 1 kilo of feta, however, we need at least 4 kilos of sheep’s milk. At €1.45, that’s €5.80 for the milk cost. But we must also add other costs.” Regarding the price per kilo of feta, he answered: “Right now, the price on supermarket shelves is about €12, I would say. There was some de-escalation because last year in 2023 we were buying at different prices, slightly more expensive than today. This means prices fluctuate. Each company follows its own commercial policy. Right now, if we’re talking about price increases, we must parallel this with profiteering. There’s no way to increase prices at this specific moment. And again, we must factor in each company’s commercial policy.” He then explained: “What I’m saying is that if feta in the supermarket cost, say, €15 two months ago, right now there’s no reason for it to increase because the milk the cheese maker used was from at least two months ago. And when asked where he sees things moving in the coming period, he stated: “Right now, there are price negotiations happening. There’s restraint both from the farmers’ level and from the cheese makers’ side. Always in the back of our minds is the consumer – both Greek and European consumers.”
