On Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, i.e. on April 8 and 9, the price of lamb is expected to be finalized ahead of Easter, as the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Butchers’ Store Managers, Savvas Kesidis, told Voria.gr.

“Is too early to tell where amnoerifi prices will fluctuate For Easter. Before the Saturday of Lazarus and the Sunday of the Plagues, there will be no price, no matter what those who want to talk say,” said Mr. Kesidis, adding that the industry together with the breeders are preparing to bring to the attention of consumers a series of issues that concern both industries.

He specifically referred to the two chronic phenomena of the period before Easter, which are the illegal Hellenization of lambs and the illegal slaughters in stables, corrals and warehouses by unconscious breeders and traders.

“We have addressed the ministries – of Rural Development and Development – and call on them to face their responsibilities and crack down on Greekization because based on last year’s data, 82,000 Romanian lambs entered the country and no one ever found out where they were sold, as well as to reduce them as much as possible the poaching because a breeder cannot slaughter in his corral uncontrollably and distribute the meat to the world because we lose twice. First, we are losing out on health, hygiene, safety and food issues. Secondly, we lose from traffic, that is, from VAT” said Mr. Kesidis.

Last year, as he pointed out, milk lambs were sold at Easter for 12.5-14 euros per kilo and milk goats for 13-15 euros per kilo.

“Demand is what will shut down production and price. That is, the greater the supply, the lower the price, and the greater the demand, the higher the price. But before the last week, we cannot know this”, he stressed.

Regarding the adequacy of lamb goats since last year many breeders, as they mentioned, slaughtered a large part of the livestock because due to the expensive feed they were unable to keep them, Mr. Kesidis stated that indeed the livestock has decreased, but the accuracy is the reason that consumers will be led to buy less meat and thus there will be no problem.

“Farmers say there is not enough to raise the price. At this moment I also dare to tell you that we are not as efficient as we were in previous years. But I’m saying that the consumer’s appetite is also much smaller than in previous years, so everyone will get less meat. Think if a family gets one kilo less meat than last year, if we add up all the families in the country, let’s say there are 1.5 million families that will get one kilo less meat, that means we will have 1.5 million kilos less, already they have disappeared the difference we want” concluded Mr. Kesidis.