Albanians "give up" coffee, imports drop by 30% for January

Drinking coffee in bars has become a lifestyle for Albanians, where many of them cannot start the day without coffee.

But at the beginning of this year, coffee imports for the month of January have decreased by 30% compared to January of last year, according to the data of the Ministry of Finance and Economy. At the beginning of this year, 534 tons of coffee were imported, the lowest amount since 2019.

In relation to the average coffee import for the month of January of the last 4 years (2019-2022), the decrease is 20%. The decrease in coffee imports started last year. In total, coffee imports for 2022 decreased by 14% compared to 2021.

The Association of Bars and Restaurants claims that the drop in imports has been influenced by increased coffee prices, with many operators stockpiling purchases in December.

The inflation of purchases for the end of the year is also emphasized by accountants, where according to Sotiraq Dhamos, service businesses always store purchased goods in December to amortize losses from price increases.

Representatives of the association also add that at the beginning of the year there is a 15 to 20% drop in coffee consumption due to the reduction in purchasing power from the general increase in the prices of food basket products.

In this period, the consumption of tea and alcoholic beverages has also decreased in bars and restaurants.

Last year, the decline in consumption in these enterprises started in the months of February-March when there was an increase in the prices of basket products, but also of imported raw materials due to the Russia-Ukraine war. While the increase in food prices increased the pressure for higher prices in bars and restaurants.

Consumption also decreased in 2021, due to pandemic restrictions.

According to the data of the INSTAT business register, in 2021, 854 activities of food and beverage services were closed, with a decrease of 5.2%.

There are a total of 15.5 thousand bars in the country, from 22 thousand in 2015, being the second most preferred activity in the country, after the minority business.

The sector is also facing another crisis, that of the lack of manpower. Until 2019, according to INSTAT data, there were about 45,000 people employed in bars and restaurants, where, however, it is estimated that the sector has high informality.

Many bar and restaurant businesses find it difficult to find new employees. Even the few employees who are left in the country demand high payments.

This situation made the activity of these structures even more difficult for the past year. According to the association's data, there are 15,000 job vacancies in bars and restaurants. /Monitor 

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