The orders for the Easter lamb are reduced by 30% compared to the corresponding period of 2023, at a time when butchers and breeders are squeezed by the commitment that the price of lamb per kilogram will be from 10 euros and below.
The Minister of Development, Kostas Skrekas, made this statement a few days ago, stressing that everyone should work for the benefit of consumers. “The lamb price target at “Easter basket” is to be at 10 euros and below. We don’t want to limit the profit of the producers, we want to limit the profit margin of the middlemen, this is the pressure on the chains, to keep the retail price below 10 euros, because these products must also be sold, otherwise there will be problem for the entire chain of production from the breeders upwards. Everyone has to cut their profits so consumers can make their purchases“, the minister had characteristically stated.
However market situation is unregulated, as the breeders make it clear that they are not going to sell lamb goats at an average price below 8 euros/kg, while the butchers point out that as the situation has developed after the announcements of the Ministry of Development, in their stores, the price is calculated a little lower this year from 15 euros/kg.
These result from the positions of the vice-presidents of the Hellenic Livestock Association (SEK), Dimitris Moschoubreeder, the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Butchers, Savva Kesidisvice-president of the National Interprofessional Animal Husbandry Organization (EDOTOK) in the meat sector and head of the Union of Consumer Workers of Greece, Apostolos Rautopoulosin the context of today’s press conference held at the Professional Chamber of Commerce of Thessaloniki (EETH), ahead of the Easter holiday season.
The president of EETH, Michalis Zorpidis, said that “prices should be arranged by breeders and traders and not by those who sit in the offices”, while he noted that while the chambers are advisors to the state, however “at least from the EETH, his advice was not sought».
The “complaint” of the butchers that the Minister of Development came out and said that this year lamb and goat have a ceiling of 10 euros per kilo, was expressed by the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Butchers, Savvas Kesidis, vice-president of the National Interprofessional Livestock Organization ( EDOTOK), saying that “these prices, which mainly concern supermarket chains, raise questions about the quality of amnoerifis». Indeed, he wondered “as many lambs will be sold for 10 euros per kilo and below, where will they come from? We don’t know if the price of 10 euros represents Greek, quality lamb, since everything sold at a price below 14 euros per kilo is either Greekized, foreign, or what was left over from the Catholic Easter and was left in the freezers».
For his part, D. Moschos emphasized that “Greek livestock is declining and thousands of animals are being lost. We see the Ministry of Development putting a ceiling at 10 euros per kilo and we already know that we will have a loss of at least two euros per kilo. With this move, we consider that the ministry either wants to strengthen some specific production units, or it wants to destroy the Greek livestock industry. How can a government put a ceiling on the price of meat and not be able to do the same on the price of electricity?».
