Selling into Cyprus through distributors

How the market buys

Cyprus is a small public market with a single front door. The e-PPS system of the Republic of Cyprus is the secure online application through which public procurement competitions in Cyprus are run electronically: buyers publish there, suppliers register as economic operators and submit their responses there, and preliminary market consultations are announced there too. The portal works in Greek and in English.

Behind the portal is the Treasury of the Republic (Γενικό Λογιστήριο), whose public procurement site brings together the Public Procurement Directorate, the Public Procurement Competent Authority, the Central Purchasing Unit and the eProcurement service. Its news and announcements are worth following alongside the portal.

The official languages of the Republic are Greek and Turkish (Constitution, article 3). For a foreign manufacturer the practical route is the same as in larger markets: buyers deal with a supplier that can invoice in Cyprus, hold or bring in stock quickly and respond in Greek. In our analysis of TED award notices for supplies (September 2026), 86% of the winners in the 243 notices from buyers in Cyprus were companies registered in the country (96% across the 30 EU and EEA countries); those local winners include distributors and dealers as well as manufacturers' own local subsidiaries — see our methodology.

Lawful first contact

Section 106(1) of the Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services Law (112(I)/2004), as published on CyLaw, allows e-mail for direct marketing only to subscribers or users who have given their prior consent. Section 106(5) then says that subsections (1) and (3) apply to subscribers who are natural persons, and that for subscribers who are not natural persons the provisions of the 2005 Order on legal persons and unsolicited communications apply (Διάταγμα του 2005 περί Νομικών Προσώπων). The law defines a "user" as any natural or legal person, which makes the section harder to read.

The 2005 Order (Κ.Δ.Π. 34/2005), issued by the electronic communications regulator, defines the subscriber it protects as a legal person, and its article 5 allows marketing e-mail to such a subscriber 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 — and requires the sender to ask for that consent clearly. In practice a first marketing e-mail to a Cypriot distributor needs its prior consent. Where the subscriber is a natural person, such as a sole trader, prior consent is required, and a named employee's address is personal data under the GDPR in any case. The customer exception in section 106(2) — similar products, an opt-out at collection and in every message — applies as elsewhere in the EU, and section 106(4) prohibits marketing e-mail that hides the sender or gives no valid address for opting out. Under section 107(2), the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection deals with possible breaches of section 106.

Until that is settled, use channels that do not depend on it: 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; a stand or a visit at a trade fair the distributor attends; an introduction through a chamber, an association or an existing partner; and a fast, complete reply to any enquiry. Once a distributor has written to you, e-mail is fine.

What local distributors expect

• Greek-language documentation for buyers and end users: technical sheets, instructions, safety information and price lists.
• Conformity evidence for the category — CE marking and declarations where the product is regulated, and test reports against the standards buyers specify.
• A commercial structure that fits a small market: margin, exclusivity for Cyprus, minimum order quantities that make sense at Cypriot volumes, and who carries stock.
• Logistics planned for an island: shipping time, consolidation with other orders, and spare parts held locally where buyers need fast service.
• References and samples.

How to enter, step by step

1. Find who already wins your category. In TED's advanced search, set the buyer country to Cyprus, the notice type to results and add your CPV codes; the companies named in the award notices are your shortlist. Cresques runs this search for the CPV categories you choose. Competitions below the thresholds can be followed on e-PPS, in Greek or English.
2. Watch the Treasury and its Central Purchasing Unit. The Treasury's public procurement site states that its Central Purchasing Unit handles framework agreements, dynamic purchasing systems and e-agora, and runs tenders on behalf of other contracting authorities. Its competitions, like all others, run on e-PPS, where suppliers register as economic operators.
3. Prepare Greek documentation. Technical sheets, instructions, safety information and price lists in Greek, for buyers and end users.
4. Assemble conformity evidence. CE marking and declarations where the product is regulated, and test reports against the standards Cypriot buyers specify.
5. Make the first contact without relying on e-mail. The 2005 Order requires a company's prior consent, so write by post, in Greek, to the owner or managing director with a one-page sheet on your range and a clear reason why it fits what the distributor already sells; or meet at a trade fair, or ask a chamber, an association or an existing partner to introduce you.
6. Size the offer for Cyprus. Set out margin, exclusivity for Cyprus, minimum order quantities that make sense at Cypriot volumes, and who carries stock.
7. Prepare the first meeting. Bring a logistics plan for an island — shipping time, consolidation with other orders, spare parts held locally where buyers need fast service — plus references and samples.
8. Follow up. Reply fast and completely to any enquiry; once a distributor has written to you, e-mail is fine.

Where the evidence comes from

Above the EU thresholds — EUR 140,000 for supplies and services bought by central government bodies and EUR 216,000 for other public authorities from 1 January 2026 — Cypriot buyers must publish contract award notices on TED, the online supplement to the Official Journal of the EU. Each notice names the winning company and carries CPV codes, so the distributors that repeatedly win, for example, hospital supplies or office equipment contracts can be identified from the public record. Competitions below the thresholds are run on e-PPS as well.

Cresques reads the award notices for the CPV categories you choose and shows who already sells that category in Cyprus. It does not help you bid for the contracts; the notices are evidence of who the buyers already trust, and the channels above are how you reach them.