Albanians are consuming very few tomatoes this season, and this time it's not due to pesticide concerns or quality issues, but rather the price that is keeping this product off the table. 1 kg of tomatoes from farmers is being sold at 250 lek/kg, but if these tomatoes make it to Tirana, their journey will cost the consumer an additional 100 lek/kg.
"I sell 1 kg of tomatoes for 250 lek, and even I feel ashamed because it's a very expensive price, but we have high costs this year and we are in extreme conditions as farmers," said farmer Qerim Elezi.
The yield in Qerim Elezi's greenhouse this year has been halved, and the blame for this lies with the extreme changes in climatic conditions.
"With 2 dynym of land planted with this type of tomato, I should have harvested at least 200 quintals, but now I don't know if I'll even reach 50 quintals, so I'm 150 quintals short. The climate changes, the lack of sunlight in November caused the plants to rot and not bear fruit," said farmer Qerim Elezi.
According to the farmer from the village of Hardhi in Belsh, there are several reasons why the price of tomatoes has reached these figures: first is the climate change, and second is the November floods in the villages of Berat and Dimal, such as Samatica and Drenovica, which are otherwise known as greenhouse areas; in this first agricultural season, they will not produce because their plants rotted from the water.
This situation has led to a shortage of tomatoes in the market, but the effect doesn't end here because we must prepare to set our tables with imported tomatoes and vegetables that lack the taste and aroma of our own produce.