Sugar imports fell by 28% for the 10-month/ Importers: It is traded 30% cheaper than last year, the decrease in consumption due to emigration

2023-11-30 12:10:00, Ekonomi CNA

Sugar imports fell by 28% for the 10-month/ Importers: It is traded 30% cheaper

The consumption of sugar in the country continues this decline, despite the fact that the wholesale price is 30% cheaper than last year.

In the period January-October 2023, according to Customs data, 38.4 million kg of sugar were imported. Compared to the same period last year, imports fell by 28%.

Importers claim that the main reasons remain the emigration of young people and the drop in demand from the agro-processing industry, as the selling prices of sugar have decreased.

Wholesale sugar price sales, according to data from wholesalers, sugar is currently being sold at 100 Lek per kg from 130 Lek per kg that was sold years ago. The change in the price of sugar was influenced by the drop in its sale on the stock exchange and the change in the exchange rate of the dollar, the currency in which the product is traded on the stock exchange.

"Sugar consumption has decreased since last year. The first is a decline in consumers. There are no residents in Albania due to emigration, mainly young people who leave. While the part of tourism has had a positive impact, but not so pronounced. The basic sugar product has daily consumption by the consumer and the industry," one of the leaders of the sugar importing company told Monitor.

The decrease in imports has also affected the processing industry. In the processing factories in the month of September at the peak of the season, the production of Albanian jams, marmalades and compotes was halved, due to the lack of fruit.

Nevion Telha, an agronomist in the Korça area, explained earlier to Monitor that this year's orchard production was reduced, as all the trees were affected by high humidity during the flowering period.

The region of Korça is very suitable for agricultural products, especially the area of ??Pojan cultivates several varieties of plums that serve as raw material for agro-industry. Telha underlined that from 8,000 to 10,000 ha of land planted in the Korça area with the "Tropojana" plum variety, only 20% of them were productive.

Importers point out that the downward trend of sugar has started since the Covid-19 pandemic, also due to the advice of doctors not to use much of it./ Monitor Magazine