Greece is grappling with the devastating impact of Storm Daniel on one of its best-known exports: feta cheese.
About 40% of the country’s soft cheese is made from sheep and goat milk produced in the central Thessaly region, which has been wreaked havoc by floods that swept through several Mediterranean countries this month. Greek farmers estimate they lost 80,000 goats and sheep in the disaster, with high water levels and scarce feed making it difficult to sustain the surviving animals.
The impact of the floods has also had an impact on industry in the region, as farmers’ livelihoods have been devastated. “The biggest blow is that many breeders in the region say they do not want to return to their profession after the floods,” said Christos Apostolopoulos, president of the Greek Dairy Industry Association.
Storm Daniel is expected to cost farmers millions of euros in damage and is the worst to hit the country in almost a century. On September 7, more than 700 tons of rain fell per acre in just 12 hours, nearly twice what Athens receives in a year.
Sixteen people have died in floods in Greece. About a quarter of Thessaly’s land used for agriculture and industry was flooded and may no longer be fertile in the coming years, and hundreds of buildings, many bridges and parts of the country’s railway and road networks were destroyed.
Analysts warned that the storm would have long-lasting effects on the economy.
“Everyone is talking about the damage caused by the floods . . . In a few months there will be a chain reaction that will lead to the closure of especially small businesses,” said Yannis Karastergios, an agricultural consultant in the region. explain. In addition to the livestock lost, many warehouses were beyond repair and farmers lost tonnes of feed, he said.
“Years of hard work were destroyed in two days,” Karastegios said. “It’s not easy to rebuild a warehouse and build a herd from scratch.”
Greece produces about 140,000 tons of feta cheese every year, about 65% of which is exported.
“Producers will soon face difficulties because their milk production will be reduced; they will have to choose where to send their products,” Apostolopoulos said, predicting that feta makers will focus on exports. market. “The shortage in Greece will be even more pronounced,” he said.
The largest feta cheese factory in Greece is Hellenic Dairies, headquartered in Trikala, northwest of Thessaly. The plant had to be shut down for two weeks as water and mud covered the machinery, with estimated losses of €25 million. The factory has now reopened.
Stelios Sarantis, Hellenic Diaries’ chief commercial officer, acknowledged that large companies like his will have to bear some of the losses. “Every year we support animal keepers,” he said. “This time, the amount we are giving will be bigger and we have no choice.”
Due to inflation, the price of feta cheese has surged about 40% in the past two years, resulting in a 10% drop in local demand. For Sarantis, that drop was enough to prevent shortages. “There will be less feta, but I don’t think there will be any shortages.”
Nikolaos Bizios, another feta maker at Bizios Dairy Industry, said cheese prices could rise further if animal feed costs rise. “It’s a problem that needs to be solved because crops and factories that produce animal food are flooded,” he said.
While the total cost of storm damage has become clearer, the European Commission said Athens could tap up to 2.25 billion euros in emergency funds, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the country’s strong economy would have Helping them “bear the cost of reconstruction”.
Greece will allocate an additional 600 million euros to the budget to meet the direct funding needs caused by the storm. Mitsotakis added that a special reserve account for national disasters would be doubled from next year to 600 million euros, funded by an increase in occupancy taxes on luxury hotels.
But the promise of aid brings little comfort to agricultural businesses, which are increasingly distrustful of authorities’ ability to deal with natural disasters.
When Greece was hit by milder storms in 2020, it allocated 200 million euros for regional reconstruction and flood prevention.
“Someone has to take responsibility; whose fault is this disaster? Where did the funds provided years ago that would have protected us from future storms gone?” Large wheat and cotton plant in Kadica, a town in western Thessaly asked producer Vassilis Patzilis.
This sense of helplessness echoes throughout the region.
“This is the second time we have been asked to rebuild the herd,” said Fotis Patounis, president of the livestock breeders association in Palamas, the Greek village worst affected by Storm Daniel . “During the last flood, our animals drowned and our land was flooded, but we managed to survive.”
In addition to the lost goats and sheep, locals now have to deal with severe damage to their homes and the destruction of agricultural equipment and machinery. “Many of my colleagues tell me they have no motivation to start over,” Patunis said.
“This time the disaster may be irreparable,” he added. “Many local producers are ready to leave their villages and move to the cities. It all depends on how much help the government provides them.”
Svlook
