CIHEAM Press Review

A recent hike in the price of milk was designed to generate profits to build a new dairy factory, according to sources who spoke to Times of Malta.
Malta Dairy Products, the company behind milk producers Benna, recently announced a second increase in the price of milk in the space of six months, saying that it can no longer absorb the rising costs required to produce milk.

The Beira Cheese and Flavours Fair returns this year to the
Pavilhão Multiúsos de Tábua, on 4 and 5 March, with 120 exhibitors.

The price of local dairy products is set to increase again next week except for plain and flavoured fresh milk.
This is to compensate for the growing expenses incurred by herdsmen, the company that produces Benna products has confirmed.

The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is not associated with a high consumption of dairy foods. However, Australian researchers recently found that adding cheese and yogurt to this eating plan provided cardiovascular benefits superior to those produced by a low-fat diet.

A fourth of Portuguese people waste more food in Summer, especially fruit, followed by greens and dairy products, a study by Too Good To Go suggests.

When Covid hit Italy in 2020, the pecorino industry careened towards life support. But thanks to the ingenuity of several producers, the cheese is now perhaps better than ever.

The cost of dairy products has soared by up to 33% since September, driven by a shortage of milk-producing livestock and increased costs in feed, packaging, glass, plastic, and fuel for transport. Also impacting the situation is the high number of farmers that have emigrated, with few youths wanting to remain behind to replace them.

Dairy supply chains are connected through well-established trade routes across the globe. Dairy product trade in 2019 topped 82m metric tons and grew by an average 2.25% for the period 2014 to 2019. In 2019, cheese reigned supreme as the most traded dairy commodity at 2.66m metric tons, followed closely by whole milk powder at 2.61m metric tons and skim milk powder at 2.58m metric tons.

Malta is the only EU member state not to have a single traditional food product registered to protect its heritage, according to a sustainable farming campaigner who believes it is time the ġbejna was put on the list. 
Jeannette Borg, who advocates for sustainable agriculture, told the Time