“Albania is soon expected to increase its egg production from a current 300 million to 600 million eggs when the EU Food and Veterinary Office gives the final okay to the export of Albanian eggs to EU markets,” says Agriculture Minister Panariti
TIRANA, March 24 – Improving standards in the country’s poultry establishments will soon allow Albania to double its egg exports to EU countries where only three companies are currently authorized to export class B eggs, Agriculture Minister Edmond Panariti has said awarding the ministry’s seal of quality to Rea’s, one of the country’s biggest egg companies operating outside the city of Durres.
“Albania is soon expected to increase its egg production from a current 300 million to 600 million eggs when the EU Food and Veterinary Office gives the final okay to the export of Albanian eggs to EU markets,” said Panariti, adding that government was also encouraging investments in meat production, which currently cannot be exported to the EU due to lack phytosanitary certification.
Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta who handed the seal of quality to two of the Rea’s shareholders, said egg and poultry exports can turn into huge source of income for Albania.
“The ministry has almost overcome the barriers to open up to European markers and ‘Made in Albania’ eggs will soon go to German and EU markets,” said Meta.
Rea’s is currently one of the country’s biggest poultry establishments which has been operating for more than a decade. Employing German technology in the food production, Rea’s produces around 65 million eggs a year.
After a hike in late 2014, egg prices in Albania have dropped to 15 lek (Euro 0.1).
Albania has around 275,000 poultry establishments. Only 16 establishments are considered as industrial holdings of which three are currently authorized to export class B eggs to the EU, says the European Commission’s Health and Consumers Directorate-General in a report after an audit carried out in 2014.
Albania’s exports of class B eggs to the EU market dropped to 387 metric tonnes in 2013, down from 2,118 tonnes in 2012 and 1,303 tonnes in 2011, says the report.
The EU Food and Veterinary Office says Albania’s certification system requires refinement in order to ensure that certifying officers are in a position of certifying that eggs class B to be exported to the EU meet all the requirements contained in the export certificates.
“Rules and principles on official certification are in place and they are mainly in line with EU requirements. However the certification system does not ensure that certifying officers are in a position of certifying all the statements contained in the veterinary certificate as they certify data of which they have no personal knowledge or which has not been ascertained before signing the veterinary certificate.”
INSTAT data shows domestic egg production in 2013 dropped to 830 million, down from 887 million in 2012.
