Republic’s authorities seize meat headed for north

The Republic of Cyprus’ customs department on Wednesday announced they had found and confiscated more than two tonnes of meat which were headed for the north.

The meat was found on July 25 after the police stopped and searched a lorry near the Green Line.

They said the meat “would have been transported from an unapproved crossing point” to the north.

When the meat was found, the police called the customs department and the veterinary services, with both departments sending officials to the scene to inspect the meat.

The meat did not bear the relevant markings, and it was determined that it had been stored in “inappropriate conditions” inside the lorry, which they said was neither licensed nor approved to carry the meat.

The case was settled with a €200 payment by the lorry’s owner and a €500 payment from its driver.

The arrival of meat from the Republic into the north has been a hot topic all year, with the Turkish Cypriot authorities regularly having arrested and fined Turkish Cypriots who had attempted to smuggle meat.

Meat is markedly more expensive in the north than it is in the Republic, despite wages being marginally lower and the north’s currency being weaker.

To combat this, the north’s ‘government’ began importing meat from abroad, with at least two shipments of imported New Zealand lamb having arrived from the Netherlands.

The north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel said the decision had been taken in reaction to the arrests made and fines levied against would-be smugglers, though despite the fact meat is now arriving from abroad, attempts to smuggle meat from the Republic are still regularly being made.

Ustel had expressed concern that Turkish Cypriots were buying “meat of unknown origin from southern Cyprus”, and that instead, the north would begin importing meat which complies with “EU standards”.

In any case, at present, the Green Line regulation prohibits the movement of animals and animal products from one side of Cyprus to the other.

The decision to import meat was unpopular among Turkish Cypriot farmers, who spent a week protesting outside ‘government’ buildings at the end of May against plans to import meat from abroad with the aim of driving down prices.

Previously, butchers had slaughtered two lambs in protest against their loss of custom, and demanded that the north’s ‘government’ “find a solution” to allow meat to be sold at a price range in line with prices in the Republic.