CYPRUS: Halloumi exporter Pittas is in financial trouble

Major halloumi exporter Pittas Dairy Industries has found itself in dire financial straits as creditors have rejected a rescue plan for the company, putting its future at risk.

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The company has faced a difficult financial situation in recent months, with temporary liquidators appointed to prepare a reorganization and settlement plan which, if approved, could set the company back on course.

However, after a series of postponements, a meeting between the company’s creditors and liquidators was held last Friday with the majority opposing the proposed rescue plan. The development may see Pittas, a company with a strong presence in the sector for the past 80 years, go to the wall.

According to Phileleftheros, creditors who opposed the plan were the Pancyprian Organisation of Cattle Farmers, Lanitis Bros, Cybarco, while members of the Pittas family also voted against the scheme.

Now, it is up to the company's shareholders to decide whether the next steps.

In the case of a controlled process, the company will continue its operations for a given time period with the aim of finding an investor who will acquire all of its assets. In the event of a disorderly winding-up process, the company will discontinue its operations and its assets sold off separately.

The company's obligations amount to several million euros and due to the fact that in recent months the supply of raw materials was limited, its turnover was negatively affected.

The majority of Pittas Industries’ debt is owed to commercial creditors, employees and the Social Insurance Department.

The company has been one of the main market players in the Cypriot cheese market with significant halloumi exports to over 40 countries.