Prices "Fly"/ Food in Albania became 5 times more expensive than in the EU

The sharp decline of the euro this summer should have helped reduce the prices of imported products, but as Eurostat data shows, the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages in Albania increased by 3.2% in July 2026, compared to the same month a year earlier, or five times more than in the European Union where the increase was only 0.6%.

Eurostat data show that food price pressures are moving in opposite directions. In Albania, the annual rate accelerated from 2.9% in June to 3.2% in July, while in the EU it slowed from 1% in June to 0.6% in July.

The Eurostat ranking shows that Albania had the fifth highest food inflation rate among 36 European countries. Higher rates were recorded only in Turkey, with 37.6%, Romania, with 4.6%, Cyprus, with 4.5%, and Iceland, with 4.4%.

Food accounted for almost a third of inflation

Overall harmonized inflation in Albania reached 3.4% in July, up from 3.2% in June. Food and non-alcoholic beverages made the largest contribution, with 1.09 percentage points, or almost a third of the overall price increase.

This is also related to the high weight that food has in Albanian consumer spending. According to INSTAT, it accounts for 34.46% of the basket used to calculate the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices.

In the European Union, overall inflation was 3% in July, just 0.4 percentage points lower than in Albania. But the difference in food prices was much larger. This shows that inflationary pressure in Albania is more concentrated in basic consumer goods than in most of the EU.

Albania with the highest growth in the Western Balkans

In the Western Balkans, Albania had the highest annual food price increase in July 2026. It was followed by Kosovo at 2.7%, Montenegro at 2.3%, while in North Macedonia and Serbia food prices were lower than a year earlier. In Serbia prices in July 2026 were -5.6 percent lower than in July 2025, while in North Macedonia they were -0.3 percent lower.

For the whole of 2026, Albania had a monthly increase in food prices much higher than the EU average. Even compared to nearby EU member states, the increase in Albania was higher. In Bulgaria, food prices rose by 1.2%, while in Croatia and Greece prices fell by 0.1% and 0.4% respectively.

Food, Albania more expensive than the EU

Albanians continue to have incomes and purchasing power among the lowest in Europe, but when it comes to food, they are paying prices higher than the European Union average.

According to the latest Eurostat data, food prices in Albania reached 102.9% of the EU average in 2025, up from 99.6% a year earlier. This means that a food basket that costs 100 euros in the EU costs an average of 103 euros in Albania, measured in purchasing power parity terms.

Meanwhile, Albanian per capita income remains only 43% of the European average, while individual per capita consumption reaches 48%. Albania ranks among the last countries in Europe for these indicators, leaving behind only a few countries in the region.

The gap between prices and incomes is becoming increasingly visible. Although Albania remains one of the most agricultural countries in Europe, consumers are facing high costs for food products, causing an increasingly large portion of the family budget to go to basic needs./ Monitor