Greek Feta PDO: growing pressure on availability and costs

The Greek Feta PDO market is entering a period of growing pressure. Conditions have deteriorated further in recent months due to a combination of lower sheep and goat milk availability, animal-health emergencies and a significant acceleration in raw material prices.

Feta PDO depends strictly on the availability of sheep and goat milk of Greek origin. Unlike other dairy categories, this supply chain cannot offset a raw material shortage by freely sourcing milk from other countries.

The impact on Feta PDO is direct. Sheep and goat milk is the main production cost component, and the current rise in prices, combined with lower availability, is creating significant pressure on Feta production costs.

Conditions are now more critical than in previous months: the issue is not only rising costs, but also increasing competition to secure available raw material and ensure production continuity.

In this context, product availability becomes a strategic factor.

Volume planning, demand visibility and advance procurement planning are increasingly important to ensure continuity of supply in a market with structurally lower availability.

The Feta PDO supply chain enters the final part of 2026 under intese pressure.

The increase in sheep and goat milk costs is already under way, while the shrinking production base and continuing animal-health emergencies increase uncertainty over future availability. In this scenario, the ability to plan and secure volumes has growing strategic value for continuity of supply

Milk production in Greece by animal species, 2022–2024 (1,000 tonnes)

Source: Areté calculations based on Eurostat data (online data code: apro_mk_farm).

Milk deliveries to dairies in Greece by species, 2022–2025

Note: 2025 data are from ELGO-DIMITRA; 2022–2024 data are from Eurostat. The share of total milk production delivered to dairies is shown only for 2022–2024, as comparable total milk production data were unavailable for 2025.

Evolution of sheep and goat milk prices: previous season vs September 2026

Source: Ypaithros Chora, 4 September 2026. Livestock sector market indications. Percentage changes calculated using range midpoints. ELGO-DIMITRA data confirm the upward trend in farm-gate prices.