Animal virus threatens Greek cheese industry

Production of one of Greece's signature foodstuffs, feta cheese, is under threat after an outbreak of highly infectious sheep and goat pox saw huge numbers of animals that produce it being culled.

To qualify as feta, cheese must contain at least 70 percent sheep's milk, with the rest coming from goats.

European Union protected status means that only cheese manufactured in Greece can bear the name feta, and the product, known as white gold, is of huge economic importance — according to the Greek Exporters Association, in 2024, feta exports generated 785 million euros ($912.8 million).

But an outbreak of the virus, first detected in the north of the country in August 2024, has spread to other regions, with data from the national Ministry of Rural Development and Food reporting 1,702 incidents by mid-November.

Greek business newspaper the Financial Courier said farmers are receiving mandatory payments of between 132 and 220 euros per culled animal, depending on their age, but they claim this is not enough to cope with the full economic impact, including herd rebuilding.

A single case being spotted in a herd means all the animals must be destroyed, and the BBC reported that in the latest outbreak, more than 400,000 creatures have so far been culled, wiping out up to five percent of all producing animals.

"Limited milk availability raises production costs and makes it harder to maintain current feta quantities," said Dimitris Gougoulis, a professor at the veterinary school of the University of Thessaly. "Prices may rise if the epidemic is not brought under control."

Thessaly in central Greece is one of the country's biggest food-producing regions, responsible for 15 percent of its sheep and goat meat, whose production will also be severely impacted by the cull, and around one-third of its milk and feta cheese.

In fall 2023, Storm Daniel devastated the area, with the town of Zagora recording 1,092 millimeters of rain in less than 24 hours — 138 percent of the average annual rainfall.

Now it is suffering again, with the Kileler municipality among those hit the hardest, with thousands of animals killed and dozens of farms forced to shut.

In September, the authorities sent veterinarians to farms and established disinfection zones but for many farmers, the damage had already been done.

"Unfortunately, at that time the tough measures that should have been taken were not implemented," Dimitris Mpaloukas, head of the Breeders Federation of Thessaly, told Reuters.

There have been reports of illegal vaccinations, making disease management even more difficult, and Konstantinos Tsiaras, Greece's rural development and food minister, said farmers must be honest about what was happening, for their own good.

"Responsibility is needed from all those involved as our livestock is at risk," he told public broadcaster ERT.

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com