Inflation 7.5% in Kosovo, economists: It's becoming “caner” for the economy

The largest price increase has occurred in the transport group, followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.

Aware of the economy for Online Economics, they call this growth “cancer” of the economy, saying that citizens mostly suffer this growth.

Economics expert Safet Gerjaliu in an interview for EO, says inflation has turned into a cancerous disease, not just for economics but also for social aspect.

“E have warned that bypassing the economic processes in Kosovo and orientation only to the political agenda, with the main pretext in fighting for power, is damaging Kosovo's economy, and that further indicators are quite disturbing. And one of the indicators that should really bother us not only as citizens, but also Kosovo politicians, is that inflation has become a cancerous disease, not just for the economic aspect, but also for the social aspect of”, he said.

“What makes this situation unique is the fact that, given the reports of various international institutions, Kosovo has the lowest per capita income in the Western Balkans, the leading away from Serbia, Macedonia and Albania. Kosovo is the last. And when we have this inflation and this rising prices of all products, in particular of essential products, it really is a situation that has to alert the political spectrum to do more”, Gerjaliu said.

According to Gerjaliu, it is Government's duty to find opportunities to reduce the negative effects of inflation.

It is true that politics does not create inflation, but it is the government's institutional but ethical and moral obligation to do more in dialogue, in finding opportunities to reduce the negative effects of inflation. Because indeed the citizen basket is smaller and smaller every day, the purchasing power is every day, and all of this is indeed increasing poverty, which is surprisingly different economic parameters in Kosovo. But what is extreme real poverty in Kosovo, neither does the Kosovo government, and apparently even international institutions do not know”, he said.

Gerxhaliu said that Kosovo has more dealt with politics, and that this has influenced the latter to become an imported-dependent state.

“E has bypassed the economy, we've taken a lot more with politics, and all of this has affected Kosovo today to become an imported-dependent state. In 2025, Kosovo imported more than 7 billion euros and 100m euros of goods from abroad. At the same time, Dogan is proud to have managed to raise over 2 billion euros in revenues by 2025. And if a community or state what Kosovo is, it is attracted to 9 billion euros within the calendar year, it is impossible to think of economic development and social stability. We are really the ones that export is almost cheaper each year. Raised electricity prices and dependence on import has directly affected inflation. And the very fact that there are no initiatives to support the private sector to increase production, invest in technology, invest in increased production standards “Made in Kosova”, today Kosovar products are uncompetitive in many markets, whether in the region or in Europe. That way the old avaz will continue, where politics will be agenda and the economy will be bypassed”, he said.

Gerxhaliu said rising prices, which are happening every day, are disturbing and that this affects the departure of citizens from Kosovo.

There are three categories of inflation. It is true that it is not yet the scale of hyperinflation that is the greatest and most harmful risk for a state or a society, but, anyway, in these existing Kosovo parameters, at these indicators that are in Kosovo, such a rate of 7.5% is really a disturbing inflation”.

Because it means, you see that many essential products today are much more expensive in Kosovo than in different countries, both in the region and in Europe. If you see that the first item every day means, it's getting expensive and Kosovo products are losing competitiveness. When the resulting effects are added both directly and indirectly to wars, Iran is particularly a next blow. And the fact that electricity is being manipulated, whether by price hikes or by cheap markets or by other forms, really the private sector is ahead of many challenges. And all this should not surprise us that today it has influenced citizens from Kosovo to leave Kosovo, to leave capital, and from Kosovo to gradually leave production or many companies to carry business activities outside Kosovo”, he said.

While, the other expert on the economy Union Mustafa tells the EO that this rise that has occurred in the country is the best evidence of the political and economic failure of current governance.

This same growth is the best evidence of the political and economic failure of current governance, which has been completely distanced from caring for the citizens of the country and at least facilitating the lives of its citizens. The increases are usually due to many factors, but the guidelines and guidelines are for a country's leading governments to find the best and most relevant ways of orientation of economic and social policies to facilitate a little bit of family economies, increase the overall price rate, and stop at least this growth that has already become unaffordable for family economies and for citizens of the country”, he said.

Mustafa, added, added that increasing inflation in the area of the economy means cancer, as citizens and businesses suffer high costs.

“The consequences are fatal. High inflation in the economic aspect is known as cancer for a country's economy, and it is seen that today citizens are poorer, family economies are poorer, businesses are facing an unbearable price cost, there will be lack of investment and the lives of citizens of the country” will be complicated, Mustafa said.

Mustafa also said that because of high prices, population migration has increased, and the economic and business activity declined.

The “is unaffordable, especially when it is known that in the last five years we have increased inflation or high inflation rates year after year, and that poverty has already increased, and population migration has increased, and the economic activity and businesses decline, and it produces effects that are unaffordable and weakens economic activity in general. There are irreparable consequences both in short term and in long term. In fact, since 2020 onward, we have had no proper economic policy, and what it looks like is the economy is moving in free decline and nobody is getting it; as if there are institutions, as if there are no institutions, government is not being seen at all, although it has all mechanisms to operate”, Mustafa told EO.

Annual inflation in March of this year had increased by an average of 6.7%.