The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry, João Ponte, announced today that the Government of the Azores will support Uniqueijo Cooperative in a campaign to promote São Jorge cheese nationwide.
"I can announce that the Regional Government will soon approve an application submitted by this cooperative, under the legislation that regulates the support to producers' organisations and cooperative with the goal of promoting São Jorge cheese," said João Ponte. The government official spoke after a meeting with the Board of the Union of Dairy and Agricultural Cooperatives of São Jorge - Uniqueijo.
The government official stressed that the Regional Government's support to the project developed by Uniqueijo represents "the commitment to support a sector that is fundamental and structuring for the economy of São Jorge and that employ many people."
João Ponte also considered that this is an "important step towards the consolidation of agriculture on the island." The government official hopes that this promotional action in the national market will contribute to the increase in sales and increased visibility of São Jorge cheese.
"São Jorge cheese is a product of excellence. It has tradition, history, and quality and has already achieved some recognition. However, Uniqueijo considered that it has the conditions to increase even more the visibility of this cheese and, therefore, the sales in the national market," João Ponte said, adding that the campaign will also enhance the visibility of Azorean dairy products.
Even though the sales of Uniqueijo are growing and there are new markets interested in buying São Jorge cheese, such as the case of Saudi Arabia from October, João Ponte acknowledged that we still need to provide an outlet for a considerable cheese stock.
The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry recalled that the Regional Government in collaboration with Uniqueijo has developed a series of actions and events with a view to promoting São Jorge cheese, creating new business opportunities and finding new markets.
Moreover, the Azorean Milk and Dairy Centre, of which the Regional Government is a founding member, has prepared an application to measure "Information and Promotion Actions," which is currently awaiting decision by the European Commission. Another member, the São Miguel Agricultural Association, submitted it last April.
This application is intended to develop a series of promotional actions that will take place over a 3 year period (2018 - 2020) and will be directed to the North American and Asian markets, namely Canada (Toronto and Montreal) and China (Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao).
In order to contribute to the promotion and visibility of Azorean cheeses, the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry is also preparing a regional cheese contest, scheduled for 2018.