A hearing with interest groups on the fiscal package was held today at the Economy Committee, where representatives of various sectors presented their concerns. Among the most critical voices was Gentjan Lalaj, from the Livestock Association, who raised several acute problems facing local milk producers, demanding, among other things, equalization of VAT and more space for the marketing of Albanian products.
Lalaj focused on the paradoxical situation of milk imports at a time when domestic production remains in stock, as livestock farmers are not recognized by the VAT system and cannot organize themselves into genuine cooperatives.
"It's a paradox, milk was requested from Italy in our country, and we couldn't sell it because we weren't allowed to create a cooperative. Then we are taking the milk abroad. There are farms that don't receive milk for reasons that we know very well. We demand VAT equalization no matter how much it is imposed. Albanian farmers can't sell us their products because we can't buy them because VAT is not recognized in the system, and we are forced to buy Serbian corn and barley, products that come from the region and we can't do it to our neighbors who beg us to buy them at a miserable price," he said.
Another issue that Lalaj highlighted was the inability to build functional cooperatives. He said that the mentality and lack of trust among farmers make any attempt to unite fail.
"We see the union of farmers as something unrealizable, today it is not being done brother to brother, and not 7 livestock farmers. We have also said it in the Ministry of Agriculture, it is impossible to bring livestock farmers or farmers together. And if it is done, it will not last long because the paths of cooperation are not being found through the boards. The cooperative in livestock farming does not function, at least for the moment, because there are many losses and losses that cannot be shown where they occurred", emphasized Lalaj.
The demands of livestock farmers remain one of the hottest issues of discussion for the new fiscal package.
