Entering Cyprus through distributors: hospital supply, one tender portal, Greek documents and a letter first

Cyprus suits a manufacturer that wants a small, readable public market: one national procurement portal, a health sector that accounts for most visible supply contracts, and documents in Greek that can also serve Greece. The first contact is made by letter or introduction, because Cypriot rules require a company's consent before a marketing e-mail.

Putting it simply: Cypriot public buyers, above all the Ministry of Health and the State Health Services Organisation that runs the public hospitals, buy mostly from local distributors that bid in Greek, invoice in Cyprus and hold stock on the island. Every competition runs on the Treasury's eProcurement system, larger awards also appear on TED, and the companies that already sell your category can be found by name. Buyers expect Greek documents, conformity evidence and a company record that can be checked at the Registrar of Companies. Marketing e-mail to a company needs its prior consent, so write a letter, meet at a fair abroad or ask for an introduction, and move to e-mail once the distributor has replied.

How the market buys

Local distributors, with a strong Greek link

In technical and medical categories the usual route is a Cypriot distributor that holds stock, delivers, services and prepares bids. In our analysis of TED award notices for supplies (November 2026), 93.5% of the 2,260 awards in the 1,329 notices from buyers in Cyprus since the end of 2023 went to companies registered in the country; those local winners include distributors and dealers as well as manufacturers' own local subsidiaries (see our methodology). In the last twelve months the share was 93.4% of 861 awards in 511 notices. A foreign manufacturer usually enters by being listed with one of them.

Most of the remaining awards go to companies registered in Greece: 91 awards to 47 Greek companies, about three in five of all awards won by foreign companies. Germany follows with 8, the Netherlands with 7, France and Italy with 5 each and Israel with 4. The link is practical. Greek and Turkish are the official languages of the Republic (Constitution, article 3), Cypriot tenders and distributors work largely in Greek, and a Greek company can bid with the documents it already uses at home; many Greek suppliers serve Cyprus directly or through a Cypriot partner. When you discuss territory with a distributor in either country, ask about the other: documentation translated for one market serves both.

Health care drives visible demand

Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (CPV division 33) account for 812 of the 1,329 notices, 61% of the total, and 96.1% of their 1,409 awards went to Cypriot companies. In our data the Ministry of Health is the buyer in 620 of those notices and the State Health Services Organisation (Οργανισμός Κρατικών Υπηρεσιών Υγείας, OKYpY) in 154. OKYpY is a public-law body that took over responsibility for running all public hospitals and primary health care centres in the areas controlled by the Republic (Law 73(I)/2017, section 3). The General Health System (ΓεΣΥ), set up by Law 89(I)/2001 and run by the Health Insurance Organisation, keeps a list of medical devices and health supplies whose cost it covers (section 2), so for products used outside hospitals it matters as much as the tenders.

The next divisions are far smaller: transport equipment (104 notices), laboratory and precision equipment (70, with 77.3% of awards to local companies), software (65, 80.5% local), construction materials (38) and furniture and cleaning products (29). Laboratory and IT buyers are the most open to foreign suppliers.

An island market

Volumes are small and everything arrives by sea or air, so a distributor weighs a new brand by more than price: shipping time, consolidation with its other orders, minimum order quantities that make sense at Cypriot volumes, and spare parts or consumables it can hold locally when a hospital needs fast service. Bring a logistics plan that answers these points to the first meeting.

Trade fairs

Cyprus has few recurring trade fairs, and as of 8 November 2026 our database of fairs lists no Cypriot event with a confirmed next edition. Cypriot distributors meet manufacturers at international events; the medical ones are listed at cresques.com/events/medical.

The proof Cypriot buyers expect

Documents in Greek

Each contract notice states the language or languages in which bids may be written (Law 73(I)/2016, Annex V, Part C, point 22), and the eProcurement portal itself works in Greek and English. In practice, expect a distributor to ask for technical sheets, instructions, safety information and price lists in Greek for buyers and end users. For medical devices, the information that must accompany the device has to be in the official Union language or languages set by the Member State where it is made available (Regulation (EU) 2017/745, Article 10(11)); confirm with your regulatory adviser which language Cyprus requires for your device class.

Conformity evidence

CE marking under the EU legislation for your product is the baseline; expect to be asked for the declaration of conformity and the test reports behind it, and for medical devices the documents the regulation requires. Check product-specific rules with your adviser.

A company record that can be checked

Cypriot buyers and distributors check counterparties at the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, whose online service searches the register of organisations by name, or words from the name, and by registration number. Have your own register extract and VAT number ready for a distributor's checks.

Invoicing

Law 89(I)/2019 requires contracting authorities to receive and process electronic invoices that comply with the European standard for e-invoicing (section 4), from 18 months after the standard's publication for central government and 30 months for other authorities (section 8). As of 8 November 2026 the European Commission's country page states that suppliers may send e-invoices to the public sector voluntarily, through Peppol access points or the government gateway, and that a future mandate is being discussed. Your distributor will usually invoice the buyer; check your own invoicing with your tax adviser.

Payment terms

Law 123(I)/2012 on late payment sets the limits. Between businesses, a contractual payment term may not exceed 60 calendar days unless expressly agreed otherwise and not grossly unfair to the creditor (section 5(5)). Where the debtor is a public authority, the term is 30 calendar days from receipt of the invoice (section 6(3)); public undertakings that provide health care and are recognised for that purpose may have up to 60 days (section 6(4)(b)), and any longer term agreed in a contract may never exceed 60 days (section 6(6)). For a distributor selling to public hospitals, this is the cash cycle to plan for. Check contract terms with your adviser.

Where public demand is visible

All public procurement in Cyprus follows one Act, with the procedure set by the estimated value of the contract excluding VAT (Law 73(I)/2016). The Treasury of the Republic is the Competent Authority for Public Procurement (section 2).

• Above the EU thresholds: from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, €140,000 for supplies and services bought by central government authorities and €216,000 for other contracting authorities (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2152; the Treasury informs buyers of each revision under section 9(2) and posts the current figures on the eProcurement portal). These notices go to the Official Journal of the EU and appear on TED.
• Below the thresholds: Part V of the Act applies (section 87). The buyer publishes a contract notice in the Official Gazette of the Republic and, within 30 days of signing, an award notice in the electronic procurement system (section 88). Up to €7,000 a buyer may award directly to a supplier it chooses, and up to €25,000 it may ask a limited number of suppliers of its choice for offers (section 90(1)); splitting contracts to fall under these limits is prohibited (section 90(2)). Even for these small contracts, no payment may be made before the electronic system is updated with the participants, the winner and the amount (section 90(3)). As of 8 November 2026 we could not confirm which of those records are open to the public.

The eProcurement system (e-PPS) at eprocurement.gov.cy is where buyers publish and suppliers register as economic operators and submit responses; preliminary market consultations are announced there too. The Treasury moved it to a new platform on 3 February 2026 at the same address, keeping existing accounts. Since 14 October 2026 the system also has an Annual Procurement Plan function, so suppliers can see planned competitions before they are launched. The Treasury's Central Purchasing Unit handles framework agreements, dynamic purchasing systems and e-agora and runs tenders on behalf of other contracting authorities.

On TED, Cypriot award notices for supplies are covered in our data since 8 December 2023, the date of the first Cypriot eForms award notice we hold; the yearly count rose from 345 notices in 2024 to 572 in 2025.

Lawful first contact

Section 106(1) of Law 112(I)/2004 on electronic communications allows e-mail for direct marketing only to subscribers or users who have given their prior consent, and section 106(5) applies that rule to natural persons, such as sole traders, while companies are covered by the 2005 Order on legal persons and unsolicited communications (Κ.Δ.Π. 34/2005). Article 5 of the Order allows marketing e-mail to a company only where the company has said it wishes to receive such messages: from you, in the Cyprus telephone directory database or to its e-mail provider. In practice a first marketing e-mail to a Cypriot distributor needs its prior consent, and section 106(4) prohibits marketing e-mail that hides the sender or gives no valid address for opting out. A named employee's address is also personal data under the GDPR.

Use channels that do not depend on e-mail:

• A letter by post to the owner or managing director, in Greek, with a one-page sheet on your range and a clear reason why it fits what the distributor already sells, for example the hospital buyers it already supplies.
• A meeting at an international trade fair the distributor attends.
• An introduction through a chamber of commerce, an industry association or an existing partner, including a Greek distributor that already covers Cyprus.
• A fast, complete reply to any enquiry. Once a distributor has written to you, e-mail is fine.

This is a summary, not legal advice; check your outreach plan with your adviser. The Cyprus market page sets out the rules and the steps, and our country-by-country guide to cold B2B e-mail compares Cyprus with the rest of Europe.

What this means for a manufacturer

• Find the distributors through TED and the eProcurement system, starting with Ministry of Health and OKYpY awards if you sell medical products, and look at the Annual Procurement Plan for what is coming.
• Check each candidate at the Registrar of Companies, and have your own register extract and VAT number ready for theirs.
• Prepare Greek documents first: technical sheets, instructions, safety information and price lists. The same set serves Greece.
• Size the offer for Cyprus: margin, exclusivity for the island, minimum order quantities that make sense at Cypriot volumes, and who holds stock and spare parts locally.
• Plan for public payment terms of 30 days, up to 60 for public health care undertakings, and keep business terms within 60 days unless expressly agreed.
• Make the first contact by letter, at a fair or through an introduction, and move to e-mail once the distributor has replied.

Where Cresques fits

Create a market for Cyprus, choose your CPV categories (or let the materials reader suggest them from a brochure or website), and Cresques shows the companies named in TED award notices for those categories, with personal details removed, along with the trade fairs where your industry meets. A company profile shows every award with value and buyer and an AI-researched role, distinguishing an independent distributor from a manufacturer's own subsidiary. The first message is drafted in Greek, with an English version, for the lawful channel in Cyprus, which means a letter rather than an e-mail; you send it yourself. Below the EU thresholds, Cresques does not yet show Cypriot awards; follow the eProcurement system yourself.