Cyprus has recorded a 15% decrease in sales of pork meat even though more and more butchers and supermarkets sell imported meat – most of the times with the consumer being unaware.
At the same time imported frozen meat is also used in the deli industry, Philenews reported on Saturday citing official data.
Consumers seem to trust local pork which is of better quality and taste even if at a more expensive price than imported meat.
Imports are coming from countries that produce their own grain compared to Cypriot pig farmers who pay the cost of transporting the grain from Europe.
In Cyprus the largest quantity of pork meat is consumed as a souvlaki with one in five skewers sold produced with imported one.
There are cases where butchers buy cheaper imported meat and sell it as local, even though the Cypriot pig industry has been facing many problems since the beginning of the year. In fact, a 20% price increase has been recorded within a year in a bid to cope with increased costs .
Production costs have risen to high levels due to the supply of feed, with producers not being paid enough for the products they supply the market with.
The dire situation has been further aggravated by the war in Ukraine.
