Tatranska mliekaren (Tatras milk plant), joint stock co. in Kezmarok is the only Slovak producer of cheese covered with camembert mold. The company enhanced its trade on the Czech market. The reason for the new packaging and TAMI brand is in the increased interest by the Czech consumers in moulded cheese Encian and Plesnivec.

The production of the cheese began in the Tatras in 1982 in order to expand the assortment of moulded cheese in the former Czechoslovakia. Until then such cheese, branded Hermelin, was produced only in the Czech Republic. "Until the split of Czechoslovakia we annually placed some 500 tons of cheese on the Czech market. After the split and the major changes in trade systems our export to the Czech Republic declined rapidly. Now it's stabilised at 10% of total annual production," says Ľubomír Kozubík, Executive Director of the Tatras Dairy Plant.

The significance of the moulded cheese is in its support to healthy public nutrition. It contains high protein and calcium volume, and is made of the supreme quality of milk. The French were the first to produce the cheese - they're considered the "mold empire" in Europe. France is also the birthplace of a number of secret recipes and brands of cultivated cheese moulds. After inoculation the cheese ripens and the mold creates the typical sticky cover. Some of the moulds are used by the dairy producers in Kezmarok. Together with their Czech colleagues they are the only producers of mold cheese in CEE. The older the moulded cheese, the better and healthier it gets. Some older cheese makers in Kezmarok trained by those in Selcany say that the healthiest cheese is the ripest one. "We would like to sell 120t cheese annually on the Czech market which is very important to us. We are glad that after the two years of stagnation, the sales acquired a new momentum. The demand has increased. Our weapon is the knowledge that Plesnivec and Encian are made of top quality milk from the Tatras," says Peter Lukac, Trade Director of the diary plant.

The management of the Tatras Dairy Plant say that the cheese from Kezmarok sells in all major towns in Bohemia. Plesnivec weighing 80g is the core export product and is best sold in South Bohemia. The 120g Encian is best known in Prague.

In comparison with Hermelin produced by a Czech-French venture Povltavske mlekarny, jt. stock co., Sedlcany, or the Moravian Pribina, both are sold at higher prices. The Slovak cheese is a competitor to the Czech producers, because it's made of mountain milk. "In order to support the sale of cheese on the Czech market, we organise a variety of support activities and tastes. We have high expectations from the new packaging and increased expiration of the cheese that has been extended from 16 to 24 days, "says Lukac.

The Tatras Dairy Plant has secured its place on the Czech market because of a network of grocery stores owned by the Germans. The managers of the plant consider the success to be the key to further expansion. Peter Lukac believes that the essential issue to every producer isn't production, but sale and positioning in the major distribution networks. Just like all dairy plants in Slvoakia and the Czech Republic, the production of milk in Kezmarok declined. Before 1989 it purchased 40m litres of milk annually. This year it will be 80% less, while the processing capacity is 70m milk. The production decline has been caused also by non-conceptual agricultural policy, rapid decline of cattle, lack of funds and low consumption of dairy products caused by increased prices. "What happened in Germany, Denmark, Austria, what's going on in the Czech Republic, will happen in Slovakia. We have to look for a path to cooperation and fusion of smaller dairy plants with the larger ones. We opened negotiations with Western firms and are open to a connection with either the Czechs or the French producers of moulded cheese," says Lubomir Kozubik about the future of production of Plesnivec and Encian.

By: Róbert Matejovič

Slovak Trade FORUM