TIRANA, Nov 5 /ATA/ Minister of Finance Petrit Malaj stated that the government has increased budget support for the agricultural sector by 180% compared to 2013.
During the deliberation of the draft budget for 2025 in the Parliamentary Committee on Economy and Finance, Malaj responded to opposition MP Arbi Agalliu, who raised concerns about the government’s failure to support the agricultural sector.
According to the head of public finances, agriculture has received the highest level of support, surpassing even sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education, and social protection.
“In 2023, support for agriculture was 47 million euros; currently, it stands at 150 million euros, recording an increase of 180%,” he said.
The minister highlighted that agriculture budget allocation is 673 million lek more compared to last year, also citing other indirect benefits.
“If we also consider the indirect benefits from the reduction of tax rates on agricultural inputs or the exemptions from VAT, support for this sector increases by an additional 5 billion lek,” declared Malaj.
Analyzing the direction of budget expenditures, Malaj said that 2% of the budget goes to the agricultural sector.
He added that Albania tops the list of countries in the region for budgetary spending on agriculture.
“Montenegro spends 1.7% of its total budget expenditures on agriculture, Bosnia and Herzegovina allocates 1.8% of its budget to agriculture. Even compared to countries in the region with similar economies, Albania performs better,” he said. /j.p/sm/
