Olive oil in Albania is sold very cheap because we cannot export to Europe, which is thirsty for olive oil

 

 Europe is in a crisis for olive oil prices, but overproduction in Albania remains, forcing farmers to sell at low prices. The war in Ukraine, but also the weather conditions, have created major global shortages in the vegetable oil market, and this year in Europe, olive oil is costing 30-50% more expensive, according to average figures reported by the largest producers.

According to the International Olive Council, to which Albania has joined since 2019, the price for 100 liters of olive oil in factories in Spain is currently at around 471 euros, in Greece 436 euros, and in Italy 582 euros. All prices are significantly higher than a year ago.

Translated into liters, the price for extra virgin olive oil varies in this way from 4.7 euros to 6.3 euros. To this price are then added the costs of packaging, transport, and the profits of middlemen and traders, to come then to supermarkets significantly more expensive.

But, when in Europe the price is higher, in Albania the prices for local oil have reached 400 leks (about 3.4 euros) per liter and the main reason is the limited access to the export markets. According to the olive oil specialist, Onejda Kyçyku, the deficiencies are so great that today in Albania we cannot even categorize the type.

Olive oil exports last year were only 119 tons, for a value of 525 thousand euros. While this year, for the period January-October, exports reached a weight of 115 tons, for a value of 620 thousand euros.

The United States of America is the destination of half of the exported oil, followed by North Macedonia, Kosovo, Switzerland, and Canada. While in the countries of the European Union, which could be the main market, Albanian producers have sold only 3.5 tons or 32 thousand euros of oil.