The Year With the Higher Prices

This family lives with only 200 euros of pension for the 76-year-old family head Sheqiri. His four children, two girls and two boys, are working years but unemployed.

I just give the kids my retirement money and they come out buying. They are complaining that prices have increased. Pension is not enough, but what to do... as much as we have, we buy”, says Pervetica.

Kosovo's Statistics Agency has indicated that the annual inflation rate in November of this year has reached 6.9 percent, up from 0.1 percent in the same period in 2020.

The higher growth is noted in bread, cereals, meat, milk, cheese, oil, eggs, trees, and vegetables. In addition to food products, increased electricity and water prices have been warned in Kosovo.

The pricelike situation is in other Western Balkan countries and in Europe.

Price increases have resulted because of obstacles to the chain of supplies that have caused the pandemia of the Coronavirus, as well as increased gas prices.

The increase in food prices is facing the seven - member family of Miradije Shaban. Miredija, about 50, is a mother of five. She works in a private sector shop and pays 300 euros a month. In addition to Miradiye, her 320-euro salary is also received by her daughter, who also works in the private sector.

I can barely afford to buy basics. Every product has been expensive to one euro. Oil has become nearly two euros. The salary is being spent only on food, nothing else you can count on,” she said.

A liter of oil last year has cost 1.13 euros, since it has already reached 1.64 euros.

“Prices are higher than official”

Inflation in this year is considered the highest in the last decade, says Ceatin Kacanik, director of the organisation “Consumer”.

He considers prices to be higher than presented in official data. According to him, the real price increase is about 12 percent.

We, like consumers, notice in the basket that we have increased prices in quantity, in quality, in expiration and others. With these salaries, all Kosovo families deserve a medal for finding, for the way they manage to join the end of the month”, Kachanic estimates.

The average gross salary in Kosovo is estimated to be around 460 euros. The average gross salary in the public sector is around 620 euros, while in the private sector around 380 euros.

In contrast, the minimum wage is 130 euros for employed under 35 and 170 euros for employees over 35 years of age.

Even Economy Professor Musa Limani says wages in Kosovo are too low to cope with inflation.

The 300 euro stand is only minimum wage. This salary has proved to be 300 euros a month when this basket increases prices this year, then 1/3 of the salary is spent on food”, he says.

However, Sequir Pjetica says that in addition to food, higher are bills for municipal services, including electricity.

“Current, water, waste must be paid. I don't know, bad situation. Someone's having a lot of (money) and someone can't even get their bread, he says.

Musa Limani and Ceatin Kachanik say the price hikes have hit families with social assistance, pensioners and unemployed mostly.

The total number of social schemes beneficiaries this year has reached more than 25,500 families with more than 21,000 members.

The unemployment rate in Kosovo, however, represents about 26 percent, or 1.8 percent higher than last year.