TIRANA, December 26/ATA/ The olive harvesting and processing season this year has been very successful and by the end of December-January, it is expected that the amount of oil produced will be 70% higher than last year.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the increase in olive production is related to the addition of new olive trees, the services that farmers have done and weather conditions.
This year, the olive crop has been included in the subsidy scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture, including, for the first time, the reimbursement of the fiscal burden for farmers who cultivate olives.
Support measure no. 5 on the use of the fund for agriculture and rural development provides for the subsidy in the amount of 50% of the total value of the tax invoice for planted olives.
Meanwhile, olive trees and olive oil production will also be supported by the IPARD III Program, which is expected to start next year.
The production of olive oil reached over 25 thousand tons this year and the government program for the development of olives aims to increase the total area with olives and increase the production of “Made in Albania” oil.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has already launched the process of registering olives in Albania, starting from Berat, the city with the greatest potential and resources for the cultivation of this culture.
The area of olive groves is currently estimated to be around 50 thousand hectares in total. Currently, the total number of olives is estimated to be around 9 million trees and the number of modern oil processing lines, over 170.
A digital information system for the olive register will identify the current state of olive growing and the perspective of its development. /p.s./
