Inflation is "lightening" the basket

Consumer prices rose 1.1 percent last year, according to data from the Statistics Agency. While citizens complain about unaffordable costs, the "Consumer" Association says the middle class is the most affected by this situation.

Fruits, vegetables, milk and water are just some of the products whose prices increased during 2024, according to data from the Statistics Agency.

According to these data, prices increased by 1.1 percent on an annual basis and 0.7 percent on a daily basis.

Citizens described this price increase as unaffordable.

"We are coping, but with great difficulty, because the price increase, and I'm saying it in quotes, the wage increase, have made the consumer's basket lighter. It has made it lighter in a negative sense, because it is easier to carry it from the market to your home," said one of them.

And, Bajram Krasniqi, another citizen, stated that any price increase has a major impact on citizens.

"If we look at it personally, it probably hasn't had that much of an impact, but in general it does, because the majority of our population is in a poor economic situation and it does, because these are items of daily consumption," he said.

Economist Fidan Qerimi says that global inflation, the war in Ukraine, and increased demand are some of the indicators that contributed to the increase in consumer prices and, consequently, to the impoverishment of the population.

"Consumers' ability to pay is the same, while prices are higher and we can no longer meet all the demands we had before. This causes poverty to increase, and on the other hand for those who cover the basic needs," said Qerimi.

And the leader of the "Consumer" association, Selatin Kaçaniku, says that the middle class of citizens is most affected by rising prices and inflation.

"Inflation should have at least one digit, and one zero. If it is 1 percent, 1.1 percent, it is actually 11 percent, because they are taking advantage of us with product components, product quantity, product volume, product weight, product quality, product safety and many other things."

According to the latest ASK reports, during 2024 the inflation rate was around 1.6 percent.