ARCOTRASS- Consortium Study on the State of Agriculture in Five Applicant Countries ALBANIA Country Report December 2006 "This study, financed by the European Commission, was undertaken by Arcotrass GmbH (Germany), in association with Vakakis International SA (Greece), EuroCare GmbH (Germany) and AKI (Hungary). The conclusions and opinions presented in this report are those of the Consultants and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Commission". Country Report: Albania ARCOTRASS- Consortium Study on the State of Agriculture in Five Applicant Countries Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE COUNTRY .................................................................................... 1 1.2 DATA AVAILABILITY AND SOURCES............................................................................ 3 2 ECONOMIC COUNTRY BACKGROUND .........................................................................4 2.1 MACRO- AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION............................................................... 4 2.2 AGRICULTURE IN THE ECONOMY ............................................................................... 5 3 LAND USE, FARM STRUCTURE AND INCOME ..............................................................7 3.1 LAND USE AND QUALITY ........................................................................................... 7 3.2 LAND OWNERSHIP AND PRIVATISATION..................................................................... 8 3.3 FARM STRUCTURE .................................................................................................... 9 3.4 FARM INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT............................................................................ 11 4 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION ................................................13 4.1 TOTAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ....................................................................... 13 4.2 CROP PRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 13 4.3 LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION........................................................................................ 17 4.4 FOOD CONSUMPTION ............................................................................................. 20 4.5 AGRICULTURAL PRICES........................................................................................... 23 5 AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY ............................................................................................26 5.1 OVERVIEW............................................................................................................. 26 5.2 MAIN FOOD INDUSTRIES......................................................................................... 27 6 SUPPORT SERVICES .................................................................................................32 6.1 FINANCIAL SUPPORT SERVICES ............................................................................... 32 6.2 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, EXTENSION AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS ..................... 32 6.3 INPUT INDUSTRY ................................................................................................... 33 7 AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD POLICY .........................................................................34 7.1 INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND POLICY CONCEPTS .............................................. 34 7.2 BUDGETARY RESOURCES......................................................................................... 35 7.3 AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD POLICIES ....................................................................... 35 7.4 FOOD SAFETY ........................................................................................................ 37 8. AGRICULTURAL TRADE AND TRADE POLICY ............................................................39 8.1 TRADE POLICY ....................................................................................................... 39 8.2 AGRICULTURAL TRADE............................................................................................ 40 8.3 AGRICULTURAL TRADE BY COUNTRY........................................................................ 42 9 RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND RURAL POLICY .............................................................45 9.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF RURAL AREAS ....................................................................... 45 9.2 RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY................................................................................. 48 9.3 REGIONAL POLICY .................................................................................................. 49 9.4 AGRO-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY .............................................................................. 50 BIBLIOGRAPHY...............................................................................................................52 ANNEX 1: DONOR ASSISTANCE ......................................................................................54 ANNEX 2: RESULTS FROM A FOOD CONSUMPTION SURVEY TIRANA (september 2004) 56 ANNEX 3: TRADE DATA FROM COMEXT DATABASE FOR ALBANIA ..................................59 Country Report: Albania Page i ARCOTRASS- Consortium Study on the State of Agriculture in Five Applicant Countries List of Tables: Table 1: Main macroeconomic indicators in comparison with EU (2005)........................................ 5 Table 2: Key agricultural indicators in comparison with EU......................................................... 6 Table 3: Land use in comparison with EU in 1000 ha (2005) ....................................................... 7 Table 4: Status of Land and Property Registration (2005) .......................................................... 8 Table 5: The structure of agricultural economic units (2002).................................................... 10 Table 6: Farm groups according to labour source (2002) ......................................................... 10 Table 7: Farm Structure ........................................................................................................ 10 Table 8: Share of agricultural labour Albania and comparison with EU (2004) ............................. 11 Table 9: Gross Agricultural Output for main agricultural commodities (Mio. Euro) ........................ 13 Table 10: Crop area (1000 ha), production (1000 t) and yield trends in crop production for Albania, 2000-2005............................................................................................................ 14 Table 11: Livestock numbers and production 2001 – 2005 and comparison with EU 2005............. 17 Table 12: Average share of household expenditures on food and non-alcoholic beverages in comparison with the EU (2000 – 2005) .................................................................... 21 Table 13: Per capita consumption of basic agricultural products (2005) ...................................... 21 Table 14: Level of self-sufficiency in Basic Agricultural Products (2005) ...................................... 22 Table 15: Retail Prices for Agricultural and Food products (2000 – 2005).................................... 23 Table 16: Share of different branches in total Food Industry GVA & employment (2005) .............. 27 Table 17: Some indicators of the milk processing industry development ..................................... 28 Table 18: Some indicators of the alcohol industry development ................................................. 30 Table 19: Agricultural Budget Albania 2005 ............................................................................. 35 Table 20: Agricultural Trade (global) in Million Euros................................................................ 40 Table 21: Share of Agro-food trade in total trade 2000 - 2005................................................... 40 Table 22: Comparative advantages......................................................................................... 42 Table 23: Agro-food export & import by export destination/import origin (Mio Euro).................... 44 Table 24: Population By Districts (2004) And Classification Of Rural Areas According To OECD Criteria ........................................................................................................................... 46 List of Figures: Figure 1: Production Index of Main Crops................................................................................ 13 Figure 2: Development of cattle herd size compared to milk and beef/veal production (as index 2001=100) ............................................................................................... 19 Figure 3: Retail Price Index for Selected Crop Products............................................................. 24 Figure 4: Retail Price Index for Selected Livestock Products ...................................................... 25 Country Report: Albania Page ii ARCOTRASS- Consortium Study on the State of Agriculture in Five Applicant Countries Abbreviations ACE Action for Cooperation in the field of Economics ALB Albania BiH Bosnia and Herzegovina CAP Common Agricultural Policy of the EU CARDS Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation EAA Economic Accounts for Agriculture EAR European Agency for Reconstruction EC European Commission EU European Union Eurostat Statistical Office of the European Union FADN Farm Accountancy Data Network FAO Food and Agriculture