Lack of market leaves produce in the fields, Fier farmers: We are not selling, urgent intervention is needed

The field vegetable season has just begun, but for farmers in Frakullë, Fier, the situation is alarming. Although their produce is of high quality and mainly intended for export, the lack of a market is pushing them toward bankruptcy.

Products such as watermelon and tomatoes have not found their way to foreign markets, while only small quantities are being sold on the domestic market. As a result, hundreds of tons of watermelons have been left in the fields without being sold.

“We work as a family. I have cultivated around 13 dynym of land and expect to harvest about 130 tons of watermelon, organic produce. At this time, sales should already have started, but no one is offering us a price and even the collection points are not taking the watermelon. We are on the verge of bankruptcy, because we have taken out loans. This produce cannot remain in the field for more than a week, because temperatures are very high. If it is not sold within a few days, we will be forced to throw away the entire harvest,” said farmer Miri Zeqaj.

In these conditions, the farmers of Frakullë, who rely on agriculture as their only source of income, are calling for immediate state intervention. They are asking for production subsidies, support for collection points, and help in finding foreign markets for export.

According to them, if the situation continues unchanged, many farmers will be forced to abandon agriculture. This, they say, will harm not only producers, but also consumers, who in the future will face imported products at much higher prices.