FLASH
Shkruar nga Thoma Gëllçi
The government continues to talk about tourism, but the figures show that domestic production is losing ground.
There's one thing I can't understand: Every week we hear about a new resort. One more marina. One more villa complex by the sea. Another project that, according to the government, will elevate Albania to the world tourism elite. Then I open the INSTAT report and I suspect that maybe Albanian resorts will be fed by concrete.
In 2025 alone, the total number of livestock decreased by 3.8 percent. Sheep and goats decreased by 56 thousand heads, falling from 1.792 million to 1.736 million. Pigs recorded a spectacular decline of 28 percent, from 104 thousand to just 75 thousand heads. Poultry also continued to decline.
If we step back a little from a year and look at what has happened over the last three decades, the picture becomes even more interesting.
In the early 1990s, Albania had over 3.2 million sheep and goats. Today, there are about 1.5 million left. The number of cattle was about 600,000. Today, it is about 275,000. From 2021 to 2025 alone, the number of cattle and small animals has decreased by about 18 percent.
But, since Albanians better understand comparisons with 1938, when the country had only 800,000 inhabitants, the figures show that we are rapidly reaching the level of the time of Zog's reign: In 1939, Albania had about 200,000 heads of cows.
In 1990, we inherited 633,000 heads from communism.
In 2013, the number of cows was reduced to around 350,000 heads.
By 2025, this number had dropped to 263,000 heads, of which only 170,000 were dairy cows.
At first glance, these seem like statistics that would interest veterinarians.
In fact, these are statistics that should worry the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Agriculture. But, for them, perhaps a resort is a picture on a screen. They live with 3D views and inauguration speeches. Every day they do not consume meat, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs, fruits, vegetables, wine and dozens of other products. He only eats propaganda videos and 3D projects of resorts. Without forgetting the concert of the agent of Iran, Kanye West (I say agent of Iran, since he makes anti-Semitic statements and is a fan of Hitler).
Now let's get back to the concrete terrain: If the number of cows, sheep, goats, farmers, and the village itself decreases every year, then someone else will do the work. The answer is imports. Neighbors.
And here the economic model being built begins to be better understood.
The government continues to talk about tourism, but the figures show that domestic production is losing ground. During 2025, imports of food and consumer goods increased by about 6.2% in volume, while the country's overall trade deficit widened, reaching a record value of about 5.4 billion euros. Food imports remained at an alarming rate of over 1.2 billion euros, while exports remained extremely low, around 415 million euros. Over 60 percent of the food consumed in Albania is now imported.
So, while we are told about the success of tourism, the economy that should supply it is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign sources.
Maybe this is not a coincidence. Maybe the model was not intended for the resorts to be supplied by Albanian farmers.
The resort is built in Albania. The apartment is sold in Albania. The tourist vacations in Albania. But the meat comes from another country. The cheese from another. The milk from another. The wine, vegetables and fruits come from where they cost less.
In this case, the resort is not connected to the Albanian economy. It is connected to the international supply market.
If we do not link this to the government's planned work, but simply to the desire of Albanians not to live and work in their own country, then we need to look at some other figures:
Albania only provides about 52 million euros in subsidies to farmers. Kosovo, with a much smaller state budget, provides over 100 million euros. North Macedonia about 120 million euros. Serbia about 1 billion euros. Greece about 4.5 billion euros per year and Italy over 9 billion euros. These countries do not do this out of nostalgia for rural life. They do it because they know that without local production there is no food security, no food industry and no tourism to distribute income throughout the economy.
As a song that the country's prime minister liked when he was not prime minister says: "Anything can happen, we live in Tirana!" Therefore, the more livestock decreases, the bigger the resort models become.
The more stalls close, the more apartment sales offices open.
The more the villages empty out, the more the screen fills with advertisements for elite tourism.
Maybe that's why livestock statistics don't spoil anyone's mood. They don't factor into architectural projects. The government doesn't worry because these problems don't factor into its grand plans for the development of elite tourism. It would be completely different if cows were sold by the square meter.
Lini një Përgjigje