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Britain Facing Halloumi Shortage As Farmers In Cyprus Struggle To Meet Demand

Britain Facing Halloumi Shortage As Farmers In Cyprus Struggle To Meet Demand

The UK is now halloumi's biggest market outside of Cyprus and strict EU rules mean it has to be made there but now farmers are struggling

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

This is officially the worst news ever. We're still yet to meet a halloumi hater because, what's to hate? It's amazing - practical and versatile.

And us Brits love it so much that Cypriot farmers are struggling to keep up with demand - it must be all those halloumi burger slices we're chucking on the barbie or the copious amount of halloumi fries passing our unapologetic lips.

Aldi

The Sun reported that the cheese must be made from at least 20 pecent sheep and goat's milk on the Mediterranean island, with these guidelines having been put in place to abide by strict EU rules.

But farmers are getting increasing demand from the UK - which is now the cheese's biggest market outside of Cyprus.

Ok, news of increasing demand shouldn't really come as a surprise - we're going through it by the lorry load at the moment, aren't we? But it's just sooo good.

Give. Us. More.

via GIPHY

Still, with summer finally getting underway and barbecue season in full swing, we're worried. What will we do with no grilled halloumi? In fact, what did we do before it even became a thing? That's the real question.

With the country on the cusp of the hottest week of the year, supermarkets are seemingly running out of stock almost as quickly as they put it on the shelves. Uh-oh. I might pass every supermarket on my way home and get as much as I can find.

People are now venting their frustration on Twitter, as one user asked: "This is going to sound silly but... Is there a shortage of halloumi? Are people panic buying it?

"I've been trying to get hold of some for 2 weeks and none of the local shops have it in stock... All I want is a salty, cheesy fix!"

Maybe panic buying is a bit strong. All we know is the shelves are emoty.

Another commented: "Been to two different shops now and NEITHER had any halloumi. Is this a joke?? Is there a national shortage????"

Pittas, one of the main halloumi producers, says it's sending emergency supplies across Europe by road to stores that don't want to wait the usual four weeks it takes to arrive by sea.

Company director John Pittas told the Daily Mail: "It costs more money to send it that way but Brits love their halloumi."

We'll pay more for it, John, honestly we will.

Featured Image Credit: Flickr (Hans Westbeek)

Topics: Food, Halloumi, Interesting, Community