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OPINEWS

"The Lek Uprising", this surreal success of the government that could not reduce food prices

Politiko 2026-07-21 20:20:45

"The Lek Uprising", this surreal success of the government that could

Irena Beqiraj
Three talented young economists, Azmi Stringa, Idlir Gjata and Alban Korbi, have conducted a scientific study on the rise in food prices in Albania and have reached some dangerous conclusions, which make their study worthy of being classified as a lightning rod by the government.
In 2024, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices in Albania reached 100% of the EU average, up from 68% in 2012. This increase has paradoxically occurred even though the local currency, the lek, has appreciated by 30%.
This has been the largest increase in food prices recorded in the Balkans during this period, despite the country registering similar economic growth rates to the regional average.
Food prices in Albania are today at higher levels than in countries such as the Netherlands and Spain, which have a GDP per capita and household well-being significantly higher than Albania. Thus, Albanian families, who spend 40% of their income on food, face price levels comparable to those of much wealthier families in the EU.
The study provides a comparative analysis based on food price inflation in Albania from 2013 to 2024, comparing its trends with food inflation rates in the European Union (EU), major trading partners, and countries in the region. It also assesses the role of the strengthening of the lek in determining domestic prices.
The results that emerge from scientific econometric models (not from government arithmetic) based on harmonized consumer price data and exchange rate-adjusted regression models reveal that food prices in Albania have increased EARLY, FASTER, EVEN MORE FREQUENTLY than in the countries of the region, even though the lek has appreciated by 30% over the decade.
While food price movements in Albania seem to move in the same direction as EU trends, if the exchange rate effect is taken into account, the correlation of food price changes in Albania with price changes in the EU and the region drops significantly to almost 0, which shows that the BENEFITS FROM THE STRENGTHENING OF THE LEK HAVE NOT BEEN PASSED ON TO CONSUMERS. So today there is less on the desks of workers and pensioners!
These findings provide strong empirical evidence that Albania's inflationary outcomes are not simply imported, but rather prices are rising domestically due to structural economic problems, weak market competition, opaque pricing, and limited regulatory oversight.
Faced with these conclusions, the government has two options:
-or ask with characteristic persistence why these guys are so angry about its own glory
-or tell us who benefited from the "lek uprising" since consumers did not benefit, on the contrary, in 2025 food prices exceeded the European average by 3.8%.
People do not differ much in their ability to distinguish evil, they differ much in their ability to justify it.