More than 80% of vegetables, fruits and greens in local retail markets are imported. Potatoes and beans are coming from Egypt and Turkey, vegetables and fruits from Greece, dairy products and cereals from Serbia, Ukraine, North Macedonia, etc.

Food import channels have reawakened and are intensifying, further discouraging farmers and herders from practicing their profession, Monitor reported.

The depopulation of villages is shrinking the areas planted in the fields in some crops and, on the other hand, tourism is driving the increase in demand for food products. To meet food needs, the country is turning to imports, which have been growing rapidly in recent times.

For all of 2023, food imports by volume increased by 10% compared to 2022, the highest expansion in the past two decades.

In December, the quantities of food imports intensified even more, increasing by about 27% compared to December 2022 and in January 2024 they were 20% higher than in January 2023.

The trade balance in field products worsened more in January. Exports of greens fell by over 20% and their imports increased by 80% compared to January 2023.

Agricultural experts believe that this is happening for two reasons. First, there is a lack of domestic production in some crops, and second, domestic costs are making products uncompetitive with imports.