We are one of the main importers of Serbian products in the region, which is why Serbia’s decision to halt wheat exports could prove to be very problematic for Albanian markets.

Around 20% of our grains – especially wheat – come from Serbia, and around 60-70% come from Russia, so this decision could be catastrophic for our country, said economy expert Endrit Yzeiraj during an interview for Euronews Albania.

Serbia’s decision, he said, puts us before a grave situation especially when it comes to our domestic production of bread which is one of the most elementary products for the most vulnerable consumers in Albania.

According to Yzeiraj, this situation will be especially harsh on the Albanian economy.

“20% of our imports may seem like a figure that’ll be easy to overcome but …when we combine this with our imports from Russia which make up 60-70% of our total imports, this means that nearly 90% of our market gets its supply from these 2 countries,” – said Yzeiraj.

The economy expert also added that there won’t be an easy or quick solution to this.

“In a way, this crisis has served to identify the structural and long-term issues with different countries’ economies. As we came to find out, Albania is a country that isn’t prepared and doesn’t hold strategic reserves which is a grave mistake, especially when we realize that 90% of our supply is dependent on other countries…” – said Yzeriaj.

Serbian president Alexandar Vucic announced earlier today that starting from tomorrow, Serbia will be halting its exports of flour, wheat, corn, and cooking oil.

Vucic also added that the Serbian government could allow exports at a later time “but at the moment, the most important thing is making sure that there’s enough food for Serbian citizens”.

Vucic also said that higher demand for Serbian exports has contributed to higher prices domestically, which is another important reason why exports are being stopped, at least for the time being.

In conclusion, the Serbian president gave a breakdown of his country’s current deposits.

“At the present moment, we have 800 thousand tons of wheat and 1.5 million tons of corn in our reserves. Our annual needs exceed 1.2 million tons of wheat, so we will have more than enough,” – said Vucic, while adding that Serbia has already received a demand for up to a quarter of its current reserves.

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