Work begins on hellim registration scheme ahead of the new EU rules
STAFF from the Livestock and Veterinary Department and the State Breeding Farm Department have started “field studies” for registering the breeds of sheep and goats in the TRNC ahead of the introduction of new “Green Line” EU trade rules.
According to a statement issued by the Agriculture and Natural Resources Ministry, Prof Nazan Koluman and Prof Huriye Kaya coordinated a team that “took action to determine the farms to be selected according to location, total number of animals and the herd size” in eight different regions.
As part of a one-year project, approximately 42 farms will be selected for “breed registration”, after which the “pilot farms will be determined and the breeding programme will be started together with the EU”.
Project coordinator and Livestock Department head Gönen Vurana pointed out that the animals have to be registered for hellim produced in the North to be sold in the EU via South Cyprus.
“We had to determine the milk yield and quality of our breeds that would produce milk suitable for hellim production,” she said.
“In this context, we started a project and conducted a study including all businesses. We also have years of data consisting of retrospective records with which we can register breeds.
“Moreover, all scientific studies conducted in our country are being examined one by one. In addition to our ministry and the Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, universities in our country and Turkey also support the breeding programme.
“By the end of the project, as the Turkish Cypriot side, we aim to determine the animal population that can meet the requirements of hellim registration in order to be able to trade it across the Green Line, to identify the characteristics of existing breeds and to create a breeding programme through . . . which appropriate animal breeds can take part.
“Thus, we will be able to create an infrastructure suitable for working pursuant to EU
legislation. Since our ministry has taken an important step in terms of hellim registration, we have started our work with enthusiasm.”
On April 12, 2021, the European Commission (EC) adopted an “Implementing Regulation” that registers hellim/halloumi as a “Protected Designation of Origin” (PDO).
From October 1, only hellim made by cheesemakers in Cyprus and which “conforms to the requirements of the product specification of the PDO” can be marketed in the European Union, according to the EC’s website.
“Under the regulation, cheesemakers resident anywhere in Cyprus have the right to have their product inspected to verify whether it meets the PDO requirements,” the EC’s website states.
In April the EC also lifted the prohibition on trade in hellim “produced in the Turkish Cypriot community across the Green Line” provided that the “cheese meets all health and sanitary standards” set out in the relevant decision.
“A system will be established to inspect farms and dairies in the Turkish Cypriot community to verify whether they comply with these standards and to issue certificates to compliant producers,” the EC website adds.