A few days ago, Germany returned a full 24 tons of cucumbers cultivated in Lushnje, Berat and Fier, due to the content of a pesticide banned in all EU countries.
The National Food Authority announced at that time that the tons of cucumbers would be destroyed, however, it did not clarify where they were grown and which country they had as an export destination.
From the analyzes carried out in the laboratories of Germany, it was found that the cucumbers contained the preparation oxamyl.
But while AKU was preparing for the destruction of the large amount of cucumbers, farmers from Lushnja, Berati and Fieri protested in front of the collection point. They claim that the preparation is sold freely in all agricultural pharmacies, and that they have not been notified by the authorities about its ban.
The collector, Lulzim Sari, has stated that this preparation, as well as 26 other preparations, has not been allowed to be used in EU countries for three years. In our country, there is no laboratory to determine the residues of pesticides banned in EU countries, so the "phytosanitary" certificate that accompanies Albanian products has no value. He said that under these conditions he will repay the obligations to the farmers for these 24 tons of cucumbers, but he will not be able to continue the collection.