Dozens of Kosovar farmers - wheat producers - headed to Pristina on Wednesday to protest in front of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development.
The reason? The low price - only 17-18 cents per kilogram of wheat - which, according to them, has been set by local millers, who are also the main buyers of their products.
"We are protesting about the price and the mess they are making, mainly the millers," Genc Mazreku, a farmer from Malisheva, told Radio Free Europe.
Many of his colleagues, who set off towards Pristina on tractors, were stopped by police and not allowed to enter the city, as the protest had not been officially notified to the authorities, as required by law.
Mazreku said that he has planted about 60 hectares of wheat and that this year he expects a yield of approximately 4 thousand kilograms per hectare.
But, according to him, the price being offered by the millers is extremely low.
He links this situation to the import of "old wheat" from Serbia, which, according to him, negatively affects the domestic market and the value of production of Kosovar farmers.
"Every year, when June comes, these millers go and clean the 'waste' (of wheat) in Serbia and bring it to Kosovo. The wheat from five years ago, from Serbia's reserves, comes to Kosovo and Albanians eat it. The wheat that is harvested this year (in Kosovo), no one takes it... or they say 17 cents, 16 cents, whatever they like," Mazreku said in outrage.
Data from Kosovo Customs confirms that Serbia is one of the main countries from which wheat is imported into Kosovo.
In the period January-May of this year, wheat worth about 7.9 million euros was imported.
The majority - over 7.2 million euros - was imported from Serbia, while the rest from Hungary and Croatia.
Radio Free Europe asked the Kosovo Food and Veterinary Agency about the year of production of the imported wheat this year, but, by the time of publication of this article, it had not received a response.
Mazreku said that the millers have also increased the water tariff this year - from 18 percent, which was last year, to 24 percent.
Water is the amount of grain that the miller keeps for himself as compensation for grinding.
This means that for every 1,000 kilograms of wheat that the farmer brings in for milling, the miller receives 240 kilograms.
"They trample on the farmer wherever they can. We have nowhere to leave our reserves," said Mazreku.
The same concern was shared by Sali Ilazi, a farmer from the municipality of Ferizaj.
He has planted 127 hectares of wheat, which he considers to be of high quality.
"Last year they paid us 20 cents. Now it's 18 cents. With this price of wheat, we can't cover (the cost of production)... The real price should be 22 to 23 cents. But why take our wheat, when they can take it from Serbia... Well, it's last resort," according to Ilazi.
His fellow countryman, Aziz Halili, who has planted about six hectares of wheat, also expressed dissatisfaction with the price offered by the millers.
He considers it unfair, especially in relation to the increase in the price of bread.
"The millers' and bakers' associations profit, and our production, which is the main one, is violated," according to Halil.
He said that in his municipality, millers don't even accept to buy his wheat.
"They don't take it at all. They've found other alternatives, they're bringing it from Serbia. There's little customs for wheat and these agricultural products. They're trampling on us," he said.
How is the price determined?
Kosovo does not have a wheat price exchange, so millers rely on regional prices, say the Kosovo Millers Association.
The leader of this association, Bashkim Zejnullahu, tells Radio Free Europe that in cases of necessity, millers from Kosovo import wheat from Serbia, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria.
Currently, the price for 1 ton of wheat in the region is lower than in Kosovo.
"In the region, at the moment, it ranges from 150 to 170 euros per ton," says Zejnullahu.
This means that the price per kilogram is 15 to 17 cents.
Zejnullahu indicates that in Kosovo, currently, the wheat harvest has only begun in some parts of Suhareka, Prizren and Rahovec, while in other parts, the harvest is expected to begin next week.
He says that Kosovo millers, who collect the wheat, have just started this process, but at different prices.
"They don't have the same prices. It all depends on the quality of the wheat. From 170 (euros) to 190 (euros) per ton," says Zejnullahu.
He explains that the price of wheat is determined primarily by quality, which is closely related to its purity.
According to Zejnullah, it often happens that the wheat brought by Kosovar farmers is not clean.
"We still have many combines, which are outdated and throw a lot of waste into the grain. Waste should not be more than two or three percent, but in most cases it is five to 10 percent," says Zejnullahu, adding that this directly affects the reduction in the price per kilogram.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reached out to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development to inquire about the possibility of addressing the concerns of Kosovar farmers regarding the price of wheat and protective policies for local production, but, by the time of publication of this article, it had not received a response.
The ministry did not even answer questions about the area planted with wheat in Kosovo, expectations for yields, total needs for wheat, and to what extent they are met by local producers.
According to previous reports, Kosovo needs about 400 thousand tons of wheat per year, but local production covers just over 60 percent of this amount.
In 2022, the quality of wheat produced in Kosovo was below usual standards, while imported supplies were jeopardized due to the temporary ban on exports from Serbia - a measure that followed the global market crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Wheat, as a raw material for flour production, is considered a strategic product for Kosovo's national security./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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