As Albanian farmers complain that their products are being sold below cost, the food stalls in retail centres have been "invaded" by imported products. 

Official data from INSTAT show that during the 8th month of 2022, an unusual increase in the import of greens was observed in quantity by 45.6% compared to the same period a year ago. 

During January-August, 30.000 tons of greens were imported into the country, from 20.000 tons in the same period of 2021. 

On the other hand, exports of vegetables in quantity increased only 1% in 8 months. According to INSTAT, exports of vegetables reached 105.000 tons in January-August 2021, from 98.5000 tons that were in this time period of 2021. 

Exports in quantity of greens were in place, while the galloping growth of imports indicates a gap in production. 

Retail stalls are full of imported products, especially seasonal products such as green salad, carrots, cabbage, pumpkins, potatoes, broccoli, etc. 

Farmers in the production areas of the country, Lushnja and Berat, inform that imports of agricultural products will increase rapidly in the future, since the areas planted in the country have decreased this year and the products that are produced have contracts with export. The gap that remains in the domestic market is being covered by imports. 

In the last two years, farmers' complaints have increased regarding high costs and labor shortages. Albanian agriculture has the lowest budget support compared to other countries in the Region, so Albanian products are becoming less and less competitive. 

The country's economy in 2021 grew at the highest rates of the last two decades by over 8.5%, agriculture, the largest sector of the economy, recorded the lowest growth compared to other sectors with only 0.28%. The same situation continued in the first quarter of 2022 with only 0.1%. 

Historically, agricultural businesses, especially production farms, have suffered from low rates of profit, but recently the increase in the costs of raw materials left hundreds of hectares of land unplanted. In the areas of Fier and Lushnja, this year, urea is sold 120% more expensively and nitrate almost 250% more than last year. 

(Source: Monitor)