Jorida Tabaku criticizes Albania's reliance on food imports

Democratic Party Deputy Jorida Tabaku has criticized the Albanian government for a perceived failure to utilize the country's agricultural potential, noting a heavy reliance on food imports despite having approximately 591,000 hectares of arable land.

According to data cited by Tabaku, Albania imported 606,000 tons of food products in the first seven months of 2026. This includes 45,500 tons of vegetables, an amount that could be produced on less than 0.2% of the nation's arable land. She identified the primary obstacles to domestic production as a lack of modern greenhouses, inadequate storage, insufficient collection points, and a lack of standardization to supply the growing tourism sector.

The situation regarding grains is described as particularly critical. During the same seven-month period, the country imported roughly 239,000 tons of grain, representing approximately 38% of the total domestic production recorded in 2025. Tabaku argued that if only 25% of the unused arable land were brought into production, Albania could produce an additional 227,000 tons of grain, covering nearly 95% of the recent imports.