Kosovo Potato Surplus Sold in Macedonia and Albania

The potato harvest had a happier ending than expected for the farmers of the TINA Agribusiness Association, who sold their crop in Macedonia and Albania. The farmers, mostly women, have been producing potatoes for long time and storing them in a traditional way, covered with soil and straw, often without any waterproof covering, which can result in significant spoilage. Last season, the farmers in the association had a major surplus of potatoes with no offers to buy their harvest. Given traditional storage methods, the entire crop could be lost while in storage.

However, this year, USAID's Kosovo Private Enterprise Program linked TINA Association with two interested buyers outside Kosovo. Eurosped from Skopje bought 200 metric tons of potatoes from the farmers, a sale worth about 20,000 euro. Another 15 metric tons were sold to Agrokoni Sh.p.k. from Tirana. These sales are an important achievement for the farmers of TINA Association as this opened a new market for them, one that can continue in the future.

USAID's Kosovo Private Enterprise Program (KPEP) is a four-year program designed to develop private sector businesses and business support services in growth sectors, and to improve the environment in which business works by helping associations and others to advocate for business-friendly policies.