CAIRO  – Greek yogurts have filled the shelves of major department stores in Egypt in recent months. The best supermarkets trust these Greek products, even though they have much higher prices than local products. It is the first time in years that an Egyptian consumer can enjoy a Greek yogurt – or even a Greek-style yogurt – despite the fact that it is clearly superior to Egyptian yogurts.

   At the same time, the presence of Greek cheese in the Egyptian market is strong. According to a study, "Dodoni" feta, which is imported in large packages and packaged by the large retail delicatessen chain Gourmet Egypt, has a long-standing presence in Egypt and is now also available in the stores. Exports of both feta and a number of other cheeses (goat, mozzarella, grated cheese) have been made from time to time by the company "Kolios", while other Greek dairy companies (eg Roussas) are also making efforts to penetrate the Egyptian market.

At the same time, Greek yogurt imports have increased by a small percentage in recent years.

Based on statistics from Greece, the trends in Greek cheese exports to Egypt in 2015-2019 are overall slightly upward, with a total increase in value during this period of 5.8 pct and by 1-1.5 pct in the two years 2018-2019. Specifically, in 2019 the value of Greek cheese exports to Egypt amounted to 153.5 thousand euros compared to 145.1 thousand euros in 2015, 80.8 thousand in 2016, 119.2 thousand in 2017 and 151.2 thousand in 2018. The exported quantities of Greek cheese in 2019 amounted to 23.7 tons, compared to 20.3 tons in 2015 and 22.7 tons in 2018. The Egyptian data (CAPMAS) ranks Greece 22nd among supplier countries, with the main suppliers of Egypt including the Netherlands (27.5 pct), New Zealand (19.3 pct), Ireland (16.2 pct) and Poland (13 pct).

  However, according to the Greek embassy's office in Cairo, there is a problem with the abuse of the term "Greek yogurt" in the Egyptian market.

   In consultation with the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food, the embassy has sent an official complaint to the Internal Trade Development Authority (ITDA) at the end of March 2020, protesting against a series of abuses of the term and is awaiting the reaction of the Egyptian state.