8 hours agoKosovo's products in Albania are hampered by interest groups
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)Producers from Kosovo demand more space to crack their products or invest in Albania. They say producers from Albania are generally open to free trade, but some interest groups are hampering this. Kosovo potato has become synonymous with trade barriers, [...]
Producers from Kosovo demand more space to crack their products or invest in Albania. They say producers from Albania are generally open to free trade, but some interest groups are hampering this.
Kosovo's potato has become synonymous with trade barriers, but according to the Astrit Pandja from the Kosovar Producers Club, there are other products that have different obstacles to crack in Albania.
“Why does Peja beer have to have so much difficulty penetrate Albania's market, while beer from Albania that penetrates Kosovo have no obstacle. Kosovo's potato has become synonymous with our trade relations unfortunately. There are no excuses more than Kosovo's drugs are having trouble breaking through Albania, until they meet all conditions”, Panja says of Radio Kosovo.
While Astrit Shaban from a production company points to the security issue as an important thing which is causing businesses from Kosovo to hesitate to crack off products or invest in Albania.
“A concern of us producers from Kosovo to participate in Albania's market in any form or with the presence of products or investments is security, because in recent years we have not had good experience in individual security or in providing for property invested there. It's not a favourable situation, we personally have tried to be present on the market, but we're still at the stage when we don't feel safe”, Shaban says.
Despite these problems, Panja from the manufacturer's club says the problem lies with interest groups, not most producers from Albania.
He says that it should not protect an individual's interest above the interest of the state.
“Producers on both sides show they are not afraid of free trade, rather they are for free trade, but we need to identify what are those interest groups that are hindering free trade between the two countries”, Panja says.
Panja says Albania's market should be the continuation of the Kosovo market, where the presence of Kosovo products should happen without problems.
