Albanians buy a more expensive bread loaf

TIRANA, Feb. 4 – Beginning Monday, Albanian bakeries increased the price of a loaf of bread from 80 to 100 leks. Their owners said that was obligatory due to the flour price hike in the international market, adding that a second price rise of 20 more leks was very likely in the near future.
The price of bread increased by 20 leks this past October. Bread has been a basic food to Albanians, who first had to cope with increases in its price more than 15 years ago, after the fall of communism.
Though its consumption in Albania’s larger cities seems to have been reduced and replaced by other foods, it still remains a staple in the diet among the poorer strata which may include more than half the population. The government has said it is unable to interfere in preventing the price hike, though it has accused bakeries of exploiting international price fluctuations.