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Albania to reform food safety for exports to EU

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Albanian agriculture minister Edmond Panariti on Tuesday said reform would be undertaken in the field of veterinary and food safety to ensure domestic food security and Albanian exports to European Union (EU) countries.

According to Panariti, the EU is to focus more intensively on this reform, as the food security guarantee is a prerequisite for exports to the EU next year.

Panariti said he discussed with the EU Ambassador to Tirana, Romana Vlahutin, the disbursement of 71 million euros (80 million U.S. dollars) of EU funding for the development and support of Albanian agriculture.

"We are working together with intent to start in the first six months of the next year the first phase of disbursement of 13 million euros, to provide direct assistance to farmers across the country and to rural areas' businesses," said the minister.

According to Panariti, the agricultural output of the first six months of 2015 rose by 4.4 billion lek (40 million U.S. dollars) compared with 2.9 billion lek in the same period a year ago. Enditem