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Onions remain without a market in Maliq/ Farmers throw away production: We are working in vain

2026-04-20 13:00:00, Sociale CNA

Onions remain without a market in Maliq/ Farmers throw away production: We are

Farmers in the Maliqi plain, mainly in the villages of Pirg and Zvirinë, are facing a difficult situation in the marketing of agricultural products.

Hundreds of tons of onions remain in stock, while the lack of a market is forcing them to throw them away or use them as livestock feed.

Onions remain without a market in Maliq/ Farmers throw away production: We are

This year's production, which required months of work and high costs, is not finding buyers. According to farmers, the price at which they are being asked to sell is much lower than the cost of production, leading them to certain losses.

"We planted the onions again, we have a reservoir and we threw them there, what can we do with them? If they wouldn't let you throw them in the river, they would come and fine you. A trader from Tirana would come, buy our goods for 200-300 old lek and sell them for 1300 old lek. The onion should be for 400-500 old lek to cover the costs. We appeal to the state, it is the regulator," the traders emphasize.

Farmers also denounce the lack of control over imported products, which they say are crowding out domestic production.

"Production is imported from abroad, traders come, buy it for 200 old lek and sell it for 700-1000 lek. My son has potatoes and onions, he sold them for 200 lek. We have been removing production since August, April came and we sold it below cost, we threw the rest away. It went into the river," says a trader.

Found without a solution, many of them are giving up on farming, while young people are leaving the country.

Onions remain without a market in Maliq/ Farmers throw away production: We are

"Look, we've thrown it to the cows and horses. We don't plant anymore. If the son goes to Greece, there are no more young people in the village," says one of the farmers.

According to them, the situation is widespread throughout the area, while the lack of a market and low prices are forcing farmers to stop production.

"The goods are not selling, the villagers have thrown them away, the sheep are eating them. There is no market, they come and buy them for 20 new lek," the farmers complain.

Farmers are calling on state institutions for urgent intervention, requesting concrete support to guarantee the market and protect local production; otherwise, they say, agriculture in the area risks being completely abandoned. /CNA