Demand for donkey milk surges in Albania

Gulf Today Report

Residents flow in and out of a small farm in the south of Tirana, Albania to purchase bottles of donkey milk, a dairy product with a lot of health benefits.

Donkey milk is believed to be rich in vitamins and boosts the immune system. Although highly-priced it was high in demand during the pandemic, as everyone looked for an extra health kick.

Elton Kika, 37, is the manager of the small farm in the village of Paper. The farm has around a dozen donkeys.  

Donkeys eat in a yard at a dairy farm. AFP

Due to the increase in coronavirus cases, "the demand for donkey milk is rising sharply,” he said.

Donkeys are typically beast of burdens in Albania, the high demand for the milk has given them a comfortable lifestyle on the farm.

The animals need tenderness and love to produce milk, he added.

A litre of the milk goes for 50 euros, an outrageous price for a country where the average wage is not up to 400 euros a month. 

Soap being made from donkey milk. AFP

However, fear of the virus has increased people’s interest in the milk.

Although it is not branded as a cure for the virus, aficionados think its nutritional content is similar to that of human milk, which aids the body.

Aside from selling the milk for consumption, the family also produces soaps, masks and other beauty products with the milk.

Regina Beqiri, a relative and pharmacist who mixes the products said there is an increase in demand because of restrictions that have forced people to stay at home and thereby take care of their skin.