Domestic agricultural production is going through a difficult situation this year, which has been reflected in a sharp decline in exports and a significant increase in imports in the first two months of January-February.
According to official INSTAT data, vegetable production has suffered a severe blow, as imports in quantity have increased by about 23%, reaching 16,157 tons. On the other hand, exports in quantity have fallen drastically by about 34%.
The same negative trend is observed in fruit trade, where the balance remains deeply in deficit. During this period, fruit imports increased by over 21%, exceeding the figure of 18,400 tons. On the other hand, the country's export capacity for this category decreased by about 27%, falling to only 3,039 tons.
This is the first year where agricultural exports in quantity have declined, marking an unprecedented record, while on the other hand imports have expanded at very high rates.
The main reason for the decline in exports is related to the major floods in January that damaged hundreds of greenhouse sectors and field plantings, damaging second-season crops on the verge of harvest and first-season nurseries in 2026.
On the other hand, the agricultural sector is increasingly suffering from land abandonment and labor shortages due to the emigration of young people from rural areas. This is leading to a shrinking of cultivated areas and a decrease in total production, leaving the country with no surplus for export and dependent on imports. Meanwhile, climate change with extreme weather such as floods and droughts is increasingly becoming a cause of damage to production.
Agricultural production in the January-February period is almost entirely based on greenhouses. Flooding of lands where these structures were located, such as in the Myzeqe or Shkodra areas, has caused irreparable damage.
For farmers who escaped the total flooding, the cost of salvaging what was left increased significantly. The need for water pumps, additional pesticides to combat humidity, and drying out greenhouses increased. In fruit, the prolonged flooding was particularly damaging to citrus fruits that are harvested during this period.
The strengthening of the local currency is making Albanian agricultural products more expensive to buy in EU countries. At the same time, it makes the import of foreign products cheaper for our market, encouraging traders to bring goods from abroad (such as from Greece or Turkey) instead of stockpiling domestic production.
Data shows that our country's dependence on foreign food supplies has increased sharply this year, exposing us to rising prices from the war crisis./Monitor
