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There are no more cattle in Albania, last year 84 million euros of meat was imported

There are no more cattle in Albania, last year 84 million euros of meat was

Last year, meat was imported from abroad like never before. This is not because Albanians consumed more, but because there were fewer livestock in the country.

"All the livestock has been sold. No one in Albania is involved in livestock farming anymore. I don't understand what's going on," says butcher Sinani.

The value of meat and its by-products purchased from abroad in the past 12 months is estimated at 84 million euros. Compared to 2023, imports expanded by 7 million euros or 9.1 percent.

 "There are two main reasons. First, the departure of residents from the village, secondly, the bankruptcy of several livestock complexes in Albania," explains pedagogue Ndoc Faslia.

Data from the Institute of Statistics shows that more than 1/3 of meat last year came from Brazil. The list of imports is followed by Greece, the United States of America and Italy.

"Albania does not need to expand processing capacities, but it needs to increase production and standards. This is done by orienting at least 70% of the subsidy scheme in the livestock sector primarily for production," adds Faslia.

Meat is one of the products for which Albanians are paying the most. Depending on the type, the increase ranges from 100 lek for beef and goat meat, to 250 lek for lamb./A2

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