Agricultural production costs are rising rapidly, 4.8% in 2024

Agricultural production costs in our country are increasing rapidly, signaling an increase in the prices of future products.

According to INSTAT, in 2024, the annual price index of agricultural products reached 149.6 from 142.8 in 2023, marking an increase of 4.8%. During this year, the price index of plant products increased by 9.1%, while the price index of livestock products also increased by 0.4%, compared to the previous year.

The country's productive sectors, industry and agriculture, the basis of sustainable development and major generators of employment, are in a deep crisis.

Official INSTAT data show that agriculture recorded an annual decline in the first quarter of 2025 by 2.76 percent, the strongest decline since the first quarter of 2020 where movements were blocked by the pandemic.

Agriculture entered its fifth year of decline in 2025. The decline in agriculture is a negative signal for the country's long-term development, as this sector accounts for an important part of the country's production, employment, and trade balance.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing account for around 15% of GDP in Albania and is the largest employer in the country with over 30% of the total by 2024, this percentage is even higher especially in rural areas.

The decline of agriculture is creating greater dependence on food imports, which increases the trade deficit and sensitivity to global price fluctuations.

This development heralds a rise in food prices in the future. For the first time in 2024, Eurostat estimated that average food prices in Albania are higher than the average for EU countries.

INSTAT explained that it calculates the Agricultural Producer Price Index from the Monthly Survey of Agricultural Products throughout the territory of the Republic of Albania. Data collection is carried out near farms, livestock markets, wholesale markets and other places where agricultural products can be collected.

Information is obtained from INSTAT only for farm-level prices for domestic products excluding taxes.

The products that form the basis for the agricultural product price index are divided into two main groups: crop products and livestock products. For crop products, prices are collected for these groups: cereals, industrial crops, fodder crops, vegetables, potatoes and fruit trees.

For livestock products, prices are collected for live weight meat and livestock products. Live weight meat prices are collected for four main categories of animals: cattle, small animals, pigs and poultry, INSTAT explains.

A well-defined weighting scheme based on international methodology is used to calculate the agricultural product price index./ Monitor