Socialist MP Erion Braçe has again criticized the growth of fruit and vegetables, this time in zones 2 and 3 of Tirana.
Braçe says that "prices are crazy," mentioning tomatoes, which are sold for 350 lek per kg, and peppers for 450 lek per kg.
According to him, the factor is not the increase in oil prices, but the import price that is following domestic production.
"From 5th, to 2nd, to 3rd this morning; I thought it was expensive only at 5th, in fact I found it expensive also at 2nd – Ballet School, 3rd – Bryli! Same products, same prices! Vegetables have gone crazy and this is a big deal!
Tomatoes continue at 300-350 lek/kilogram; they are imported - Greek and Turkish; there are also local ones - mostly pink, still unripe, harvested by farmers in a rush to capture the high price; Red peppers are 450 lek/kilogram and are local, but there are very few.
Look; these are not oil prices; the increase of 50 lek/liter in the price of oil does not have this impact on the price of tomatoes and peppers, nothing, it is a much smaller impact than 100 lek per kilogram of a product! But it is the import price that is following the domestic production; meanwhile, the domestic production is still insufficient! So we have a big problem with the production structure, hit hard by floods in the most productive area and the unsuitable climate; so I was shouting for damage coverage!
"But whoever doesn't listen, these are the consequences!", denounces Braçe.