An overview of current situation and trends in Albanian vegetables protected cultivation sector

Vegetable production in Albania occupies relatively small percentage of agricultural land in Albania, 30,000 ha out of total of about 3 million ha of agricultural land). The core activity of vegetable production is the protected cultivation (mostly low tunnels and low cost greenhouses). There are estimated to be about 1,000 ha of low tunnels (almost totally planted with watermelons) and close to 1,000 ha of greenhouses. The most visible trend of vegetable industry of Albania in the last decade is the fast growth of the area and production of non-heated (solar) greenhouses. Compared with 2000, the total area of greenhouses in 2014 is more than doubled. While the area of heated greenhouses is largely oscillated, the area of plastic greenhouses is continuously increased up. The sector of protected vegetable production (greenhouses and low tunnels) is the most contributing sector of Albanian agriculture exports. The quantity of vegetable exports is almost doubled from 2011 to 2013, while the value of vegetable exports is also increased with about 70%. While vegetable imports are following an almost flat trend, this significant increase of vegetable exports is the cause of a significant improvement of export/import ratio (mostly by volume), from 3:1 to 4:1. The improvement of this ratio is less significant regarding the respective values, from 1:1 to 1.6:1.