December 13 (SeeNews) - The Albanian government has approved an agricultural financing scheme worth 20 million euro ($23.5 million) for the next year aiming to boost exports, the country's agriculture ministry said.
The national funding scheme will focus on increasing agricultural, livestock and food exports and attaining food safety standards, a press release issued by the ministry cited agriculture minister Niko Peleshi as saying during a conference on Monday.
The financial scheme would pave the way to boost production and exports of fruits, vegetables and nuts, as well as food and agro-processing industry products in 2018, the agriculture minister added.
Low expenditures and structural problems such as the small size of local farms and crop fields are some of the main challenges Albania faces in the area of agriculture, the European Commission (EC) noted in a press release issued after a meeting of EU - Albania Stabilisation and Association Agreement subcommittee on agriculture and fisheries in November.
($ = 0.8504 euro)