High - Price Anxiety, Kachanic: Government Not Avoiding Consumer Obligations

World Consumer Day has raised concerns about continuing price hikes in Kosovo, lack of control in the market, and the citizens' numerous complaints about the cost of living. Representatives of civil society and citizens say consumers are facing unstable and difficult prices to meet daily expenses.

The chairman of the Association “Consumer”, Ceatin Kacanik, said the level of information and awareness of consumers in the country also depends on meeting the obligations that institutions have towards them.

He asked the government to have a ministry of consumer protection.

We are so informed, educated as well as the government fulfills its mandate which is also this information, education, education, and the creation of conditions for achieving and raising cultural levels, consumers and awareness that in this period we will also be state partners. MINT has the Department of Consumer Protection in it, but this department is in conflict of interest, because it's where the businesses are where we often have complaints about. To have the consumer defence minister, or under MINT, the deputy minister is someone from the consumer civil society with the right to veto all decisions that harm the consumer citizen”, Kachanic said.

He stressed that one of the main problems remains the policy of prices and imports without control, which he says has many complaints from citizens.

The Kachanic requires that the respective institutions not evade obligations to consumer citizens.

We look at the price policy very simply, but it's actually a real offender. Import without control, I've asked the Government that in all embassies that we have developed trade to have and trade representatives, consultants that will transmit this sector, but that's not what happened. We have many complaints in quality, quantity, the price of imports. Any imported product should be cheaper than in the state of origin. We have the highest prices, the lowest quality of quantity, we have many problems we need to take seriously. The government should not avoid obligations to us”, he added.

While citizens consider that frequent price changes and lack of market regulation are burdening them more and more.

Citizen Mustaf Ahmeti said prices vary often from one day to another, and that there is not enough control over businesses.

We're informed, but they're not keeping the rules at all. You have a price today, double tomorrow, no price fixing at all, and the consumer is the worst. You have nowhere to go, today you punish him again tomorrow. There is no market arrangement, no market, no one has the same articles, where to go you see 100 percent change in a day. Completely abused, all firms operating in Kosovo have found meadows and tending”, he said.

Citizen Nezir Hajoll also found that price hikes have become unbearable for many families, especially pensioners and low - income citizens.

There's nowhere in line with the articles, there's no income, a 150-euro pension, what to do with them, with all of them rising prices. Not high, but on our heads, someone feels the poverty. First, gasoline over 1.55 euros -- from gasoline and around -- all were being raised. She's affected, she's a number one-tenth-one-second number, Chajoll said.

According to official data, in several months of 2025 annual inflation in Kosovo has been about 450 percent. In October 2025 consumer prices averaged 5.1 percent higher than in October 2024, while in November 2025 the average growth was about 5.3 percent compared to the year before.

Products that were more expensive during 2025, according to data from the Statistics Agency of Kosovo (ASK), are electricity up to 1550 percent in some periods, fruits over 1550 percent, coffee, tea, and cacao about 1350 percent, meat about 12,5003 percent as well as milk, cheese and eggs over 750 percent.

In February 2026, annual inflation reached about 6 percent, and monthly growth was about 0.6 percent, marking the highest rate of price growth since 2023. / K SP