Leo Rodenrijs, Premium Berry:
"Albania: "The place to be in the coming years"
The booth of Premium Berry and Hortimat.
High potential
According to Rodenrijs, Albania is quite unknown for its agriculture, but the potentials are high and are increasing from year to year. The climate conditions are excellent and he therefore expects that it will be the place to be for Europe in the coming years, and particularly for the off-season production of fruit and vegetables. "For example, you can see in the Divjake region that they grow and harvest carrots three times a year. Albania is also one of the first countries in Southern Europe where the watermelons are harvested. And now, for example, the first local cherries are already on the market again. But pepper, tomato cultivation has the largest volumes."
Expanding export markets
"Currently, much is being produced for the Balkan market, because Albanian fruits and vegetables are the first on the market in this region." However, Albania is expanding its export markets. "We see more and more is being exported to Austria and Italy from Albania."
Demand technology
In the horticultural sector, there is a lot of demand for technology, in all parts of the cultivation, pre- and post-harvest processes. "Currently, the demand for modern tunnel constructions and irrigation technology is the highest. Most cultivation is still in the ground; you see little cultivation in substrate and hydroponic systems. But you see that there is a lot of interest in packaging machines, pre-harvesting machines for fruit and vegetables, pot plant machines, sorting machines for fruit and vegetables, and Hortimat is specialized in this."
Hortimat
Over the last 26 years, Hortimat has build up a broad collection of used horticultural machines and materials (like harvesting machines, potting machines, CHP installations as well as growing gutter) and has become a big player in this area. Currently they are active in more than seventy countries all over the world. "We distinguish ourselves by fully overhauling, providing advice, taking care of the installation on site and adopting a three-month warranty period", says Stef van der Linden from Hortimat.
Some statistics - Albania
Currently, the greenhouses acreage is about 1500 ha and produced over 110,000 MT of vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers etc), fruits (Watermelon, Melon, Apple, Chestnuts, Peach, Plumb, Cherry, Raspberries, Strawberries etc.) produced over 240,000 MT and Citruses (Clementine, Oranges, Lemons etc.) produced over 30,000 MT.
Agro-Tech Expo & Conference 2018
The Agro-Tech Expo & Conference 2018 was held from April 27-29, 2018 in Tirana, the capital of Albania. The fair was organized by Expocity Albania and the main purpose was to gather all the most important actors in the field of agricultural and agro-technology sectors in Albania and the Balkans region, in a unique venue. The fair's aim is to create an international communication platform for farmers from around the country, as well as present an opportunity to connect and establish contacts with top companies in the industry across the region.
Premium Berry exhibited at the show and for the first time, they could offer the services of Hortimat as well. According to Rodenrijs, the interest for the products of Hortimat was high. "I see good opportunities for Hortimat in Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo in the short term."
Rodenrijs took some pictures of the exhibition to give an impression of the show.
Opening of the Agro-Tech Expo & Conference 2018.
For more information:
Premium Berry
Leo Rodenrijs
Email: leo@premiumberry.nl
Hortimat
Email: albania@hortimat.com
www.hortimat.com