Prices in Albania, for the first time since the crisis, reach a record compared to the EU

In Europe, inflation has begun to stabilize after the historic increase caused by the war in Ukraine, but in Albania the opposite is happening, as prices are increasing steadily, reflecting the structural problems of the local economy, especially the production sector.

The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices, a Eurostat methodology, showed that inflation in Albania during the month of October was 4.7%, much higher than the average inflation in the EU for the same month, which was 3.6%.

Also, the indicator was much higher than the national measurements from the CPI, which in October was 3.8%.

In October last year, the HIPC in Albania was 8%, while in the EU it was 11.5%.

But as the inflation in Europe, where the rates decreased due to the stabilization of energy prices that were the main cause, Albania, which for years was ranked among the countries with the lowest price increase, is now going to the other side with high inflation.

In January 2023, the CPI in the EU was almost 3 percentage points higher than in Albania (see the attached graph), respectively 10 and 7.1%.

This difference was visible until June when it started narrowing, as the prices in the EU reduced the rates of growth, while in Albania they were becoming stable. In September, the HICP was equal to the EU and in October the prices in Albania increased by 1.1 percentage points more than in the EU.

Inflation in our country is being created by internal factors and especially by the truncated supply of agricultural products, which is making the food basket more expensive, which is the main form of inflation in our country.

Agriculture, the largest sector in the economy in the second quarter of the year, fell for the fifth quarter in a row, as the number of consumers increased due to tourists exerting pressure on prices.

According to Eurostat's method, in October, it can be seen that food, rent, bars and restaurants had the greatest influence on the increase in prices.

The biggest price increase of 8.5% is observed in the group "Entertainment and culture", followed by the groups "Food and non-alcoholic beverages" with 7.7%, "Hotels, cafes and restaurants" with 5.8%, "Service education" with 5.0%, "Furniture, household appliances and maintenance" with 4.8%, "Clothing and shoes" with 3.4%, "Alcoholic beverages and tobacco" and "Miscellaneous goods and services" with 3, 2% each, "Health" with 1.5%, "Communication" with 1.0% and "Rent, water, fuel and energy" with 0.5%. On the other hand, the prices of the "Transporti" group decreased by 4.5%.

In October, the monthly change measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices is 0.1%. This change was mainly influenced by the price increase of the group "Hotels, cafes and restaurants" by 1.4%, followed by the groups "Clothing and shoes" by 0.6%, "Rent, water, fuel and energy" by 0 .3%, "Transport" with 0.2% and "Educational service" with 0.1%.

On the other hand, the prices of the "Entertainment and culture" group decreased by 0.5%, followed by "Food and non-alcoholic beverages" by 0.2%, "Alcoholic beverages and tobacco" and "Furniture, home appliances and maintenance" by 0.1% each./Monitor