A well-known corporation is entering the local halloumi production market at a time when the industry is set to take off with a PDO registration.
Dodoni Dairy products (Cyprus) Ltd, a subsidiary company of the well-known Greek company “DODONI S.A. Agricultural Dairy Industry of Epirus,” is planning to set up shop in Limassol in spring 2016. Dodoni Cyprus will make a formal announcement on September 26 at the presence of Agriculture Minister Nicos Kouyialis.
Back in August, Cyprus scored an important victory in a Greek court in its bid to protect halloumi as a traditional Cypriot cheese, prohibiting Greek Dairy Industry from producing and selling the product. Registering a PDO has numerous benefits for Cyprus, including the producers’ exclusive rights to use a registered name and EU logos on their packaging, protecting product names from misuse and helping producers obtain premium prices.
Dodoni was taken over by Russian interests about three years ago after it had sold a share previously held by ATEbank (Agricultural Bank of Greece).
The PDO registration includes two names, the Greek Cypriot “halloumi” and the Turkish Cypriot “hellim” which are very popular with locals and foreigners.
Cyprus Weekly
