At 68 percent of the EU 27, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices in Albania are on par with EU member Bulgaria and higher compared to Macedonia, Poland, and Romania at 58 percent, 61 percent and 67 percent respectively
TIRANA, June 25 – Price levels of food, beverages and tobacco in Albania are among the lowest in the whole Europe and at around two-thirds of the EU 27, a report released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union showed this week.
At 68 percent of the EU 27 in 2012, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices in Albania are on par with EU member Bulgaria and higher compared to Macedonia, Poland, and Romania at 58 percent, 61 percent and 67 percent respectively.
‘Bread and cereals,’ ‘meat,’ ‘milk’, ‘cheese and eggs’ prices in Albania stand at 66, 52 and 84 percent of the EU 27. At 72 percent of the EU 27 average Albania has the second lowest alcoholic beverages after neighboriung Macedonia. Tobacco prices in Albania stand at 27 percent of the EU, also the second lowers among 37 surveyed countries. At around 40 percent, Albania has one of the world’s highest smoking rates.
In 2012, the price level of a comparable basket of food and non-alcoholic beverages was more than twice as high in the most expensive EU27 Member State than in the cheapest one.
Denmark had the highest price level for food and non-alcoholic beverages in the EU27 in 2012, at 143 percent of the EU27 average, followed by Sweden (124 percent), Austria (120 percent), Finland (119 percent), Ireland (118 percent) and Luxembourg (116 percent). The lowest price levels were observed in Poland (61 percent), Romania (67 percent), Bulgaria (68 percent) and Lithuania (77 percent, according to Eurostat data.
While Albania’s purchasing power stands at less than one-third of the EU 27 average, price levels for consumer goods and services are estimated at 51 percent, showing that the cost of living in Albania is relatively high compared to the small income.
A previous Eurostat report showed Albania’s total score at 51 percent of the EU 27 average in 2011 is higher than Macedonia’s 45 percent and on par to Bulgaria, both of which have a GDP per capita expressed in purchasing power standards 5 to 14 percent higher than Albania.
Detailed Eurostat data show Albania’s “food and non-alcoholic beverages” which are the key contributors to the Consumer Price Index are priced at 70 percent of the EU 27 average. Clothing prices also stand at 72 percent of the EU 27 average.
Albania’s highest price levels are reported in the “consumer electronics” and “personal transport equipment” which stand at 108 percent and 98 percent of the EU average, respectively. The lowest price levels are found in the “restaurants and hotels” and “alcoholic beverages and tobacco” groups which stand at 42 percent and 50 percent of the EU 27 average.
The overall price levels included in the Eurostat report relate to the concept of household final consumption expenditure, which consists of all expenditure incurred by households on goods and services for consumption, including also rents for housing.
GDP per capita in PPS at 30% of EU 27
In its latest report, Eurostat ranked Albania’s GDP per capita in PPS at 30 percent of the EU 27 average, down from 31 percent in mid-2012 based on revised purchasing power parities, and the latest GDP and population figures. Back in 2009 and 2010, Albania’s GDP per capita in purchasing power standards, an artificial currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries, stood at 28 percent and 27 percent respectively.
At 70 percent below the EU 27 average, Albania’s 2011 GDP per capita is also 5 to 22 percent below regional EU candidates Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey and 31 percent below acceding Croatia.
Meanwhile, the Actual Individual Consumption per capita, an alternative indicator better adapted to describe the material welfare situation of households, ranks Albania the last in Europe although climbing to 34 percent of the EU 27 average in 2011.
Investment price levels
The cheapest country for investments is the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with a price level index (PLI) of 56 percent of the EU 27 average, followed by Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina with a PLI of 57 each, says a Eurostat report. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey are the cheapest countries for investment in construction, showing price levels under 50% of the EU average. Albania’s price level index for machinery and equipment stands just 1 percent below the EU 27 average.
GDP per capita at only 3,080 euros
Although registering the third highest GDP growth rates among EU aspirants in 2011, Albania GDP per capita, an indicator of the standard of living, ranks Albania on the bottom of the table along with Kosovo. Eurostat data show the Albanian economy grew by 3 percent in 2011 but the GDP per capita was 3,080 Euros compared to 25,100 in the EU-27 and better only compared to neighboring Kosovo’s 2,418 among EU aspirants.
At 70 percent below the EU 27 average, Albania’s 2011 GDP per capita is also 5 to 22 percent below regional EU candidates Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey and 31 percent below acceding Croatia.
