Albania's Ministry of Finance published remarks by Finance Minister Petrit Malaj from a meeting with representatives of the banking system and agribusiness on expanding access to finance for agriculture. Malaj outlined plans to create a new financing window through an “innovative banking instrument” intended to cover 70% of the principal of eligible loans. The proposed support would be delivered via soft loans backed by a total fund of around EUR 250 million, with favourable interest rates of up to 3.5%, aiming to increase agricultural financing, improve lending terms and reduce collateral requirements. The scheme would target areas including production infrastructure and agri-processing (fruit and vegetables, vineyards, livestock and other food products), fisheries and aquaculture, agrotourism and rural tourism, and agricultural innovation and mechanisation; Malaj also pointed to planned 2025 budget spending of ALL 14.6 billion for agriculture, including ALL 4.4 billion for the national farmer scheme and fuel subsidies, rising to ALL 5.1 billion by 2027. The minister framed the next step as developing a clear work plan with government, financial institutions and farmers; the release did not set out an implementation timeline.

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