Albania removes barriers to potatoes from Kosovo

Minister Memli Krasniqi, who has been in constant contact with authorities in Albania to eliminate these barriers, has said that from today the potato producers can export their products to Albania without the reference price calculated earlier by authorities in Albania.

“We have received a clarification of Albania's Customs decision, under which no previously warned reference prices will be implemented, and we believe in this dedication of the Albanian Government, but also of relevant bodies to continue with the last practice, where bank transactions between exporters from Kosovo and importers from Albania” have been accepted, the minister of Krasniqi has said, adding that both governments in recent years have provided exceptionally good examples of co-operation, especially in the area of agriculture.

According to him, Kosovo has been the market where Albania has steadily increased its agricultural exports, but where Kosovo has managed to have a significant increase in agricultural exports in general, including Albania. “We have a supplementary agriculture, our seasons are not competitive with each other and in this direction with my counterpart, but even with all the officials of the Government of Albania we have had an compatibility to have an approach to helping each other and in no way to prevent one another. And I express my will for a further co-operation to a market unification, just as pledged by the leaders of the two governments even in the past”, Krasniqi said.

On the other hand, Albania's ambassador to Kosovo, Kemal Minxhozi, regarding the establishment of the reference price for the Kosovo potato, has said it has been an unstudent and unimpressed stop in any way, neither in the economic plan nor beyond, and in his view this brief situation that has prevented potato products from heading towards Albania's markets has ended.

“Taking the trigger from this case I assure all potato producers from Kosovo that several days of barriers on the Albanian market have been broken and I think that the amounts planned by Kosovo producers to export to Albania will go more intensively during these days, and all institutions are interested that this process continues at a higher pace so that no lack in the planned incomes of Kosovo potato producers” is created, Ambassador Minxhozi said.

Otherwise, Minister Krasniqi and Ambassador Minxhozi have expressed their readiness to deepen further co-operation in the field of agriculture so that phenomena such as this will not be repeated.