Local perimes go abroad, market fills with import

Mazrek, from mid - June until the beginning of August, has collected some 150 tons of tomatoes and expects to harvest another 150.

All this amount is sold on European markets.

I don't sell local market “Domats. The price is cheaper, and I sell it abroad faster and expensive. I send them to a collection point here in Mamusa and he exports them abroad. This year's price is good, 60 cents per kilo, and on the local market it goes cheaper”, he told Radio Europe Free.

At the Eurotac collection point, yes, in Mamusha, except for tomatoes, the cucumbers, the cabbages, onions, potatoes are being collected, and it is expected soon to begin collecting peppers. Most are from greenhouses and all are exported to the Balkan and European countries.

The owner of this company, Nehat Thaci, told Free Europe Radio that the demand for local products has exceeded local offer.

“As farmers offer we export, peppers and tomatoes are very much required”.

For 20 days of July alone, we have exported these kinds of cultures worth over 1m euros, while by the end of the season we have contracted amounts of up to 3m euros”, Mazreku said.

It indicated that last year it has exported amounts worth 1.5m euros.

Each year, there are increases in demand for all these products”, Mazreku told Radio Free Europe.

According to Kosovo Customs data, for the January-June 2025 period, vegetable exports have achieved considerable value: tomatoes around 30,000 euros, peppers 50 thousand euros, cucumbers 277 thousand euros, while potatoes approximately 1.1m euros.

These figures do not include July, when production and export of these cultures are usually reached.

However, this export growth has not been reflected in lowering prices for local consumers.

Although there are local products on the market, prices remain high for the standard of many citizens, with an average salary of 539 euros.

During the summer months, prices for a kilogram of peppers amount to up to 1.50 euros, tomatoes up to 1.20 euros, cucumbers over 1 euros, while potatoes slightly cheaper, price change depending on location or store.

But such figures vary when it comes to processing these vegetables.

Hartim Gashi, executive director of the Kosovo Tree and Permit Processors Association ( PepeCo told Radio Europe free that in recent years, the number of companies producing seasonal vegetables has increased, and this creates lack of commercial products.

At the country level, there are 1,700 such companies, which, according to Gashi, are mostly led by women.

According to him, 68 percent of companies export their products mainly to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

The priority local farmers have export of products, and very little are involved in supply to the local market. That's because the price is good, the safe pay and the short time to send to the collection point”, he relates.

In Kosovo, about 420 thousand hectares of land are exploited for agricultural reasons. Of them, more than half are exploited for pasture and pasture.

However, Gashi says Kosovo continues to depend on the import of these products from other states, such as Turkey, the Netherlands and Albania, and therefore higher prices.

We have an interesting export situation growing, but at the same time, import is increasing. This is due to a lack of local production at certain times, especially during the winter. During this time, markets continue to have vegetables, but they are not from Kosovo”, he said.

Fatmir Selimi, agroeconomic magistrate, estimates that the high amount of imports is also linked to the fact that, according to tradition, in the autumn season, Kosovo citizens are supplied with vegetables for pickles, which they use during the winter season.

In January alone, June, in Kosovo the imported value of these agricultural cultures on the local market has reached over 1.5m euros.

How should local production be increased?

Gashi and Selimi think institutions should balance the needs of the internal market with export orientation.

Gashi proposes establishing safeguard clauses and subsidies for expanding greenhouses, citing the need for setting quotas for import during the local production season.

“I am taking the tomato sample from June 15th to September 15th, it should not be completely imported but restricted. For example, you only have 100 tons of tomatoes per day”, he said.

Selimi, meanwhile, stresses the need for financial support that would help farmers increase productivity and quality.

The Ministry of Agriculture has announced to Radio Free Europe that during the past year it has subsidised some 5,000 hectares of land planted in cultures such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, potatoes and onions.

According to the ministry, farmers who have cultivated these vegetables in the open field have been subsidised by 600 euros per hectare, while those who have cultivated them in greenhouses are supported by 850 euros per hectare.

The overall area of vegetable greenhouses in Kosovo totals 242 hectares. / REL