Agriculture in Albania

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Agriculture in Albania employs 47.8% of the population and about 24.31% of the land is used for agricultural purposes. Agriculture contributes to 18.9% of the country's GDP. Domestic farm products accounted for 63% of household expenditures and 25% of exports in 1990. As part of the pre-accession process of Albania to the EU, farmers are being aided through IPA 2011 funds to improve Albanian agriculture standards.[1] One of the earliest farming sites in Europe has been found in Southeastern Albania.[2]

File:Coastline in Albania.jpg
Albanian Riviera is famous for its olive and citrus plantations

Production and exports

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Main article: Economy of Albania
Blegtoria, or cattle-breeding: Sheep on Albanian countryside

The main agricultural products in Albania are tobacco, figs, olives, wheat, maize, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes, meat, honey, dairy products, and traditional medicine and aromatic plants. Agriculture accounts for 18.9% of the GDP and a large portion of the exports. However, it is limited primarily to small family operations and subsistence farming because of lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots of land. The post-1990 land fragmentation, uncertain land ownership, lack of state registries and bank crediting, and high VAT are all obstacles to a modern agricultural industry. There is also a concern that agricultural products originating from Albania are being stamped as 'Product of Turkey' for the international market.

However, the agricultural scene is gradually changing with the introduction of cooperatives, foreign investment, farmer formalization, and the construction of collection and distribution centers.

Forestry

Albania has soils and a climate favorable to an extensive lumber industry. Many of the historic forests of Albania were destroyed with inefficient wood industry and expanse of agricultural land in the 1990s. Today, forests cover about one third of Albania’s land area and, due to an agreement with Italy and the World Bank, there is a large amount of reforestation underway.

Fishing

Albania’s proximity to the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic Sea give the underdeveloped fishing industry great potential. World Bank and European Community economists report that Albania's fishing industry has good potential to generate export earnings because prices in the nearby Greek and Italian markets are many times higher than those in the Albanian market. The fish available off the coasts of Albania are carp, trout, sea bream, mussels, and crustaceans.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/albania/ipa/2011/pf_7_agriculture_ipard_like_measures.pdf
  2. ↑ http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=15552

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.

Further reading

External links

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