XARRA, ALBANIA--Today, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Water Administration, Edmond Panariti, USAID/Albania Director, Marcus Johnson, and the Head of Xarre Commune, Dhimiter Kote, took part in a special celebration to promote Albanian citrus production at the 3rd annual Mandarin Festival in Xarra. The festival coincides with the citrus harvest and the culmination of a year of effort by citrus growers in the village. Xarra is a region in southern Albania with significant citrus production which is exported to neighboring countries like Kosovo, Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Serbia. USAID has worked with the growers and community since 2007 to revitalize citrus production after the collapse of the industry in the 1990's. Currently, USAID support is focused on improving yield, quality, and safety through training and assistance to growers, as well as improving market infrastructure and linkages.

Festivities included a "Harvesting Contest" with participation of citrus growers, visitors and school students, a tour of the collection center in Xarre where EU export standards were demonstrated, a concert performed by students from Xarre commune and a traditional polyphonic group, as well as an awards ceremony to acknowledge this year's best citrus producers and harvesters.

Xarre has over 85,000 citrus trees in production, of which 75,000 mandarin trees. Over 160 new hectares have been planted with citrus from 2008 to 2013. The total production of mandarin jumped from 2,480 metric tons (MT) in 2009 (with an average yield of 40.6kg/tree) to 8,100 tons in 2013 (with an average yield of 85 kg/ tree). The forecast for 2014 production season is around 10,000 MT. The number of citrus growers also increased from 59 at the beginning to 269. Considering the rapid growth of the sector, the local market demand for mandarin will be soon met as new acreage is planted every year and because at the moment only 50% of citrus orchards are in production.