CYPRUS: Halloumi cheese set to make it big in China

A protocol for the export of Cypriot dairy products to China was signed on Tuesday paving the way for the famous Cypriot white cheese halloumi to wow the huge Chinese market.

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Cypriot Minister of Agriculture Costas Kadis and China’s Minister of the General Administration of Customs of China Ni Yuefeng signed the protocol.

Kadis thanked Ni Yuefeng for the successful outcome of efforts to allow the import of Cypriot dairy products, especially halloumi, to China, and requested faster procedures to register and license Cypriot dairies.

Ni Yuefeng praised the high standards of production in Cypriot dairies and expressed certainty that the genuine Cypriot halloumi would very soon be available on the market in China.

He added that there was an upward trend in Cypriot exports to China, which would be enhanced by the protocol signed on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Kadis also raised the issue of completing procedures to export other Cypriot products to China, such as fishery products and potatoes.

While in China, Kadis will visit the 1st China International Import Expo, which marks a new era in opening the Chinese market to third countries.

Kadis will also hold a series of meeting with Chinese wine and food distribution companies, with an aim to strengthen the effort to further penetrate the Chinese market.

Traditional halloumi cheese is a semi-hard, unripened, brined cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes also cow's milk. It has a high melting point and so can easily be fried or grilled.

Halloumi sales are at an all-time high with the dairy industry exporting some 23,000 tonnes, worth EUR 156 mln in 2017

Halloumi exports are expected to touch EUR 200 mln this year – but once China is in the mix export figures should skyrocket.

More than 6,500 families depend on the halloumi industry, as the raw materials come from the Cypriot agricultural sector.

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