The illicit trade in herbs

Speaking to television station Ndtv, Mr. Mousafiris notes: "The villagers began to realize what is happening lately and became active" What happens is that Albanians built a rough hut in the middle of the mountains, in order to collect herbs grown in the area.

In fact, it was so organized that they had brought with them mules to carry their “harvest” and take it to Albania, in order to sell it. This is not the only incident. Last August in Tripoli illegal collectors were arrested having in their possession large quantities of wild oregano and mountain tea.

As Helen Maloupa, researcher for the "Demeter"agency, "Greece has 7,500 species of herbs, of which 20% are aromatic and are used in pharmaceutical preparations. However they do not grow abundantly.” The properties of Greek herbs makes them sought after in Europe. As the article notes, Greece sells herbs to Germany, France, Bulgaria, Italy and Poland. At some point illegal collectors from Albania entered , seeking to reap for their own benefit what is given by the Greek land. Policeman Giorgos Mousafiris confirms this conclusion from the daily exercise of his duties. As Greek experts mentioned, the problem lies not only in illegal trade, but also in the way we unknowingly collect herbs. For his part, Kostas Oikonomakis, an expert in mountain tea, notes: "They sell herbs at a lower price because these are not certified."

The reaction of Greece  was for producers of dry herbs to team up with the government and create a national list of herbs under a scientific umbrella. It is no coincidence that many extroverted Greek companies are increasingly betting on the power of herbs and are actively engaging in their trade. A typical example is mountain tea, which has now reached New York, San Francisco, and Paris. Certified growers attempt to control production, so as not to exhaust stock.