A total of 39.5000 metric tonnes of tomatoes were exported to the countries in the region and to Europe in the first half of the year, according to INSTAT data.

The Albanian Agricultural and Rural Development Agency has supported the fruits and vegetables growing sector through the IPARD II programme to increase production and standards in order to meet domestic demand and increase exports.

More than 280 contracts worth 44.1 million euros have been signed to boost production of export-bounded fruits and vegetables.

Tomatoes are the biggest agriculture exported products out of all Albanian exports.

The tomatoes are produced in the regions of Berat, Fier, Lushnje, Divjake, etc. and Albanian exports go to other countries in the region, like: Kosovo, North  Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in Central and Western Europe such as: Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Poland, France, Netherlands, Germany, etc.

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Data show that tomato exports account for 17 % of the total of vegetable and fruit exports during the reviewed period.

The General Directorate of Customs said that Albania exported 167,000 metric tons of tomato, accounting for 17% of the total.

In the first five months alone, Albania exported 27.5 thousand tons of tomato with an estimated value of 2.2 billion leke. Other vegetable exports include cabbage, cauliflower and white turnips that account for 12.47% of the total, with their exports estimated at around 21,000 tons and a value of 1.17 billion leke.

Cucumber export account for 10.55 % of the total of vegetable and fruit export.

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According to INSTAT’s official data on foreign trade, during the period January-August, goods worth about 11.1 billion ALL were exported to North Macedonia.

INSTAT said that during the 8th month period of the current year, imports also recorded an increase of 2.7 billion ALL. Referring to the data, imports result in the figures of 10.2 billion ALL versus 7.5 billion ALL that were in the first 8 months of 2021.

The most exported products continue to be fresh products: tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh fish, fresh citrus fruits, dough products, etc.

Albania and North Macedonia cooperate closely within the framework of implementation of the CEFTA 2006 agreement and since 2011, trade between the two countries has been liberalized and operates without customs fees./p.s./

In his remarks, Balla stated that during this season the farmers have faced failure in the cultivation of tomatoes, as the cultivar they have planted this year has not given the proper production either in quantity or in quality.

According to Balla, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development-MARD has set up working groups for the relevant analysis of seeds, water, soil, in order to identify the cause of tomato plant failure in the area of Roskovec, Berat and Dimali.

“Farmers will also be supported by MARD experts during new tomato cultivation season expected to kick off in the coming days,” Balla said. //a.i/