From sage, to blueberries, along with fennel, laurel, and chamomile... the imposition of tariffs by the United States of America will affect Albania the most in terms of exports of aromatic and medicinal plants.
A third of the dried leaves of wild plants from Mount Bureto in Gjirokastra or the grains collected from the meadows of the north of the country go across the Atlantic, followed by Germany, Spain and Turkey.
"This is certainly not good news for us at a time when this industry accounts for over 14% of all exports to the EU and America. From the current zero, every shipment to the US will have a customs tariff of 10%, which consequently creates another difficulty for our industry," said Filip Gjoka.
Data from the Institute of Statistics shows that the value of exports of aromatic and medicinal plants last year reached 5.1 billion lek. In relation to the total, this category accounts for 1.4 percent of last year's exports.
"Specifically, the imposition of a 10% tariff on Albanian exports translates into an increase in the cost of exports. An increase in the price of Albanian products in the American market, making them less competitive. This could lead to a decrease in demand for Albanian products and a reduction in the volume of exports, directly hitting thousands of farmers and small businesses in rural areas, reducing their profits," adds Gjoka.
Under these conditions, representatives of this industry are requesting a refund of 10 percent of the Value Added Tax.
"We call on the government, but also the opposition Democratic Party, to exert pressure. Otherwise, our industry will suffer an irreparable blow," declared Gjoka.
Albanian exporters shipped over 7 billion lek worth of goods to the United States last year, making the transatlantic country 13th in terms of exports. The implementation of tariffs on April 5 is expected to affect this performance. (A2 Televizion)
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