High prices for basic foods, citizens complain

Consumer prices, which have marked increases in Kosovo in recent months, have cost many monthly baskets, say citizens surveyed by Radio Free Europe.

“This increase is disturbing, salaries are small, 150 and 180 euros. The government would have to take action to prevent price hikes”, says Hasan Bekteshi.

Price moves, he says, have had - milk, butter, cheese, and many other basic products.

Miradije Ziber likewise says:

“Prices have increased, more so these basics, basic foods that are very necessary. This, even if expensive, is not a problem. The price of bread that is important has not been raised, but the increase is”.

The overall harmonised consumer price index, according to data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency (ASK), has been higher with an average of 2.4 per cent in June, compared to June 2020.

The largest price freeze in Kosovo, according to the AKS, has been noted in food oils and fats. The lift is also recorded in bread and cereals, fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment, then tobacco, and other products.

Anti measures - CO VID-19 influenced price hikes

The chairman of the Kosovo Business Alliance (AKB), Agim Sahin, tells Radio Free Europe that rising consumer prices have dictated the measures imposed on preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The production industry, he adds, has worked under restrictive measures, with smaller numbers of workers, thus reducing production.

According to him, rising consumer prices are even higher than 2.4 percent.

“in ABB estimates inflation is 3 percent. That figure is too high to face the situation and the economic moment the country is going through. Lack of production and raising demand with automatism have affected price hikes. Pandemia has changed many global parameters, and many statistics have changed to global markets as well. Many workers without jobs have remained, many jobs have been reduced, demand for consumption has increased, while production potential has been reduced”, Sahin says.

According to Sahin, Kosovo is importing almost all food products and any price change in global markets affects Kosovo as well.

According to a UN report, (OKB), released in June, global food prices have risen to monthly bases at the fastest pace in the decade.

According to the UN, supplies have been affected by obstacles to production and transport during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

On an annual basis, food prices have increased by 39.7 percent, until May the largest monthly increase since October 2010, according to the index. The largest price increase has been observed in oils, cereals, and sugar.

Low Salaries, High Prices

During 2020, the average salary in Kosovo has marked a decline. In 2020, the average gross salary was 466 euros, until 477 euros in 2019.

The average gross salary in the private sector in 2020 was 380 euros, until by 2019 it was 411 euros.

The head of the nongovernmental organisation “Consumator”, Ceatin Kacanik, tells Radio Free Europe that 2.4 percent price hikes are unaffordable to the citizen's pocket because of low wages.

If we add 2.4 percent to the other expenses that take place these days, that is, if we take up housing prices, it strengthens the consumer's response, particularly the poor consumer. So for the latter, this lift is unbearable”, he says.

In Kosovo, the increase has also marked the cost of construction. This increase is 5.3 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period in the preceding year.

According to the AKS, price hikes have marked construction materials (7.9 percent), energy (5.5 percent), machinery (2.7 percent) and other costs (0.6 percent).

This increase in construction costs automatically increases the cost of residence.

Price hikes in region countries

Even in the countries of the region, there have been price hikes. In Serbia, according to Statistics Office data, consumer prices in June have increased by 3.3 per cent compared to the same month in the preceding year.

According to data, transportation prices have increased by 7.3 percent, followed by food and nonalcohol beverages by 4.9 percent.

In Northern Macedonia, the cost of living has increased by 2.4 percent compared to the same period in the preceding year, according to Statistics Bureau data. The largest increase in prices has been in restaurants and hotels by 5.6 percent, followed by alcohol and tobacco by 5.3 percent.

In Montenegro, according to the Statistics Office, in May of this year, transportation prices have increased by 10.2 percent compared to the same period in 2020.

Meanwhile, prices of food products and nonalcohol beverages have increased by 2.8 percent. But the largest increase has been noted in oil prices by 37.6 percent, and according to authorities, inflation has resulted to this increase.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, in January-May 2021, authorities have reported an average price increase of 1.4 percent. Price increases have been marked in food and nonalcohol beverages by 1.5 percent, while higher prices have experienced transport by 10.2 percent.