The Ministry of Rural Development and Food appears to have lost all restraint as it continues even today to send fraudulent data regarding the number of sheep and goats in the country. The latest example appears in a publication in the "EFSA Journal 2026; 24(1):9928, Section 3.2.1 'Small ruminant population in Greece and Bulgaria'," which claims that the small ruminant population in Greece stands at 17 million. It should be noted that EFSA is the European Food Safety Authority!
The controversial excerpt
The specific excerpt states the following:
3.2.1 Small ruminant population in Greece and Bulgaria
"…..The small ruminant population in Greece and Bulgaria comprise 83,500 farms (approx. 17 million heads, 13 million sheep and 4 million goats) and 24,300 farms (1.4 million heads, 1.23 million sheep and 200 thousand goats) respectively." In essence, it claims that in Greece there are 13 million sheep and 4 million goats. The question remains: who is sending these figures that bear absolutely no relation to reality? It appears the perpetrator is the Ministry's Veterinary Directorate, as the 17 million figure matches the unreliable Public Registry (OSDE/Veterinary Base), which on April 29, 2025, showed 17,321,370 animals.
The table of deception
Here is the relevant Excel table, recorded in descending order by region:
RETHYMNO 4,417,834
HERAKLION 2,111,591
AETOLOAKARNANIA 1,131,192
LARISSA 983,108
CHANIA 933,874
ACHAIA 580,260
LESVOS 566,932
ELIS 383,412
LASITHI 349,624
SERRES 264,008
TRIKALA 258,091
KOZANI 254,088
CYCLADES 243,404
EUBOEA 241,729
MAGNESIA 234,379
ARKADIA 230,424
LACONIA 221,867
THESSALONIKI 214,646
IOANNINA 212,485
KEFALONIA 209,718
FTHIOTIS 203,927
KARDITSA 197,642
PIERIA 151,023
PREVEZA 147,281
RHODOPE 146,888
THESPROTIA 146,404
CHALKIDIKI 144,235
KILKIS 141,557
BOEOTIA 138,517
PELLA 135,380
DODECANESE 132,197
ARGOLIS 127,112
KAVALA 125,659
DRAMA 117,471
EVROS 116,866
FLORINA 116,571
ARTA 115,181
CORINTH 109,329
GREVENA 108,678
XANTHI 97,430
PHOCIS 97,089
MESSINIA 92,639
KASTORIA 76,287
EAST ATTICA 50,417
IMATHIA 46,229
WEST ATTICA 43,437
CHIOS 42,168
EVRYTANIA 42,144
SAMOS 29,885
LEFKADA 11,727
ZAKYNTHOS 9,488
PIRAEUS 9,388
CORFU 7,023
CENTRAL ATTICA 1,795
From the table, one observes that in Rethymno, 4,417,834 sheep and goats have been registered (!!!) and in the Prefecture of Heraklion 2,111,591!!!
The real (?) figures
At the same time, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), based on sample surveys and censuses, calculates the actual population of small ruminants at approximately 9,000,000. Meanwhile, for the Single Area Payment Application (SAPA) 2025, OPEKEPE subsidized approximately 11,000,000 animals—a number that still sits miles away from the 17 million declared to EFSA by the competent directorate of the Ministry. Of course, it is doubtful whether even the animals subsidized by OPEKEPE actually exist. Supposedly, electronic boluses will be inserted by the end of May to verify them, though BN believes this will not happen and that the promise is merely a smoke screen for the Europeans regarding the accreditation that OPEKEPE-AADE lacks.
The motive
It is obvious that sending false and inflated data is a practice that is, at the very least, dangerous. It may conceal:
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The fact that the Veterinary Database is completely out of date, containing "ghost animals" that do not exist in reality.
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The artificial inflation of the sector's size, which exposes the country internationally when data is cross-referenced with milk and meat production.
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A continuation of the operation to squander European funds through illegal subsidies, as the database serves as the "foundation" for payments.
The question, of course, is who monitors the unmonitored and hands out accolades to Minister Tsiaras for the work he DID NOT do.
Nikos Karoutzos
nkaroutzos@gmail.com
www.bankingnews.gr
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