Milk imports for the 9-month increased by 27%/ Processors: Domestic production does not guarantee quantity due to the closure of small farms

2023-10-19 07:45:00, Ekonomi CNA

Milk imports for the 9-month increased by 27%/ Processors: Domestic production

Milk processing plants continue to increase milk imports for dairy products, as domestic production does not guarantee the required quantity.

According to Customs data, milk imports in the January-September period increased by 27% compared to the same period in 2022.

While the amount of powdered milk imports for the months of January-September decreased by 22% compared to the same period last year. For 2022, the amount of imports for powdered milk fell 20% compared to 2021, according to Customs data.

One of the milk processors in the country claimed that it continues to receive milk from imports, especially in Italy and Hungary, since local production cannot guarantee the required quantity.

He added that the reason for the decrease in production is the high number of small farms that are being closed, while the growth of large farms is smaller than the closing of small ones.

Xhevahir Alushi, who owns a small farm in the Zall Herrit area in Tirana, told Monitor that due to the inability to meet the costs, he has reduced the number of cows from 10 to 7 cows.

Alushi pointed out that the cost of keeping animals continues to remain high since the purchase of nutrients, the workers' payments for the land ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 lek per day, while the increase in the sale price of milk would reduce demand.

A dairy farmer for 22 years, Alushi underlined that the decrease in the number of cows on the farm started from 2022, when the price of hay ball and fertilizer for the land almost doubled.

Currently, the cow's milk produced by the farmer is sold to processing factories at a price of 80 to 90 Lek per liter including VAT. In foreign markets, processors claim that they are finding milk at a price of up to 76 Lek including VAT.

The trend of increasing imports started in 2019, when the amended VAT refund scheme was implemented, from the rate of 20% down to 6%. According to Customs data, the amount of milk imports in 2019 increased by 30% compared to 2018.

Milk processing factories were further penalized by other fiscal measures that start implementation from January 1, 2022, such as the removal of the refundable VAT scheme, the imposition of 10% VAT on agricultural inputs from 0 that was previously which brought a reduction in the amount of milk produced by the farmer for keeping the animals.

The President of the Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nikolin Jaka, before the entry into force of the new fiscal measures, warned that in order to meet the demand for dairy products, the processors will import milk from abroad.

"Such a measure also brings a negative impact on milk processors, since since the beginning of 2022, the interest of farmers is falling. The negative effects that are being created in the increase in the costs of milk production, of raw materials affect the increase of imported products, which compete with the local product", asserted earlier Mr. Collar.

Even among processing companies, the fiscal changes created uncertainty in the milk collection and processing market, favoring the import of products from the region./ Monitor Magazine

Milk imports for the 9-month increased by 27%/ Processors: Domestic production