After onion and wheat, the farmers of Korça are also selling potatoes below cost; compete with imports

After onions and wheat, the farmers of Korça are at risk of having the new potato crop left in stock. The reason is the selling price below the cost of production due to lack of market.

Currently, the potato in the wholesale market is being asked to be bought from the farmer at a price of 20-30 to 33 lek per kg or about 20 lek cheaper than last year. Compared to last year, the selling price is 40% less.

Mikel Plasa, one of the biggest potato growers in the Korça area, told "Monitor" that this year he planted 20 hectares of land with potatoes, the same amount as last year. He expects to harvest by the end of the season on September 15 about 9,000 tons of papata, for which there is no market.

"We have started the first potato harvest, the production is good, despite the dry climate, but the lack of a sales market remains a problem.

Potatoes are being requested at a selling price of 25 ALL per kg from local traders, up to 33 ALL per kg. The asking price is below the cost of production, it's like giving it away for free.

If I sell the production at this price, I automatically have a loss of 80,000 euros. In order to make a profit, you have to sell the potato at least at the price of 50 ALL per kg", he asserts.

The farmer from the area of ​​Korça, Mikel Plasa, underlines that the price drop has been influenced by the "game" played by the wholesale traders with the price for the goods they buy directly from the farmers, as the selling price of potatoes in the retail market has reached up to 90 Lek per kg.

"On the other hand, the import of potatoes, especially from Kosovo, has influenced the increase in supply in the market. Imported potatoes from Kosovo are being sold in the country at a price of 20 euro cents per kg, due to the high subsidies given to farmers", he adds.

The only solution remains the storage of production until the price increases, but even in this case, farmers claim that losses from potato rot are significant.

According to INSTAT data, last year around 274.1 thousand tons of potatoes were produced in the country. Compared to 2022, production increased by 4.3%.

A few weeks ago, the farmers of this area also faced the lack of market for onion and wheat production. This forced some farmers in the Korca area to protest.

Driven by the increase in demand in the domestic market due to the high influx of tourists last year, farmers in the Korca area increased their crops for dry onions and potatoes by about 30% more than last year. But the requested wholesale price reached 25 ALL per kg, or 50% less than last year.

According to INSTAT data at the national level, in 2023, 117.1 thousand tons of dry onions were produced. Compared to 2022, production increased by about 8%.

While the sale of wheat has entered the second year of the crisis. This year, the requested selling price ranges from 21 to 23 ALL per kg, from 28 ALL per kg that was requested last year, from 21 to 33% less than last year. Even for wheat, according to farmers, the requested price is completely below cost./ Monitor