FLASH
Shkruar nga Eduard Zaloshnja
To resolve this situation, either the legislation must be changed, or the Competition Authority must be changed.
According to Eurostat, the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Price Index for Albania is 101%. This means that food prices in Albania are 1% more expensive than the European Union average.
A theoretical explanation that economists can give in this case is that the demand for food products is greater in Albania than the EU average.
According to economic theory, the demand for products directly depends on the income level of a country's population. But in the case of Albania, (according to Eurostat) the income level is a full 59% lower than the average income level of the EU (calculated according to the purchasing power of each country). So, the demand for food products cannot be the cause of their high prices in Albania.
Then, we must look at the food supply, which is controlled by a few large importers and a few large supermarket chains (small neighborhood stores simply follow the prices set by the “big ones”). It seems that the “big ones” have created a silent cartel among themselves, where they set high prices, which are followed by all the “small ones” below them.
For example, a few weeks ago, in the middle of Athens, I bought a kilo of quality cherries for 4 euros per kilo. The next day, in the middle of Tirana, I saw that 1 kilo of quality cherries cost a full 10 euros. And any Albanian who goes to Europe can make similar comparisons…
We have here the Competition Authority, which is supposed to prevent tacit cartels among wholesalers, through which they impose high prices for the entire market segment they cover. But in the case of the food market segment, it seems that this authority has failed.
To solve this situation, either the legislation needs to be changed, or the Competition Authority needs to be changed. So that we don't have food 1% more expensive than in the EU, while our average income is 59% lower...
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