Albanians spend 50% of their income just for food, expert say

Azmi Stringa while talking to Euronews Albania

 Economic expert, Azmi Stringa says that the increase in prices for basket products will burden the pockets of the Albanian consumer.

This increase said Mr. Stringa is very influential considering that "Albanians spend about 50% of their income only on food and non-alcoholic beverages".

He said that this shows that we are very poor, having in mind the countries of the European Union have an average of 12%.

According to Mr. Stringa is a very important link between the village and the city because if a retiree did not buy their products and go to the market, then the income for food would not be enough.

Seasonal fruits and vegetables give retirees the opportunity to afford the costs.

Referring to the increase in pensions in the last 10 years, the expert said that all this money in 10 years is enough to buy just a cell phone or TV".

Mr. Stringa considers food supply to be "an issue of national importance" and calls for intervention.

In the long run, he said, local products should be promoted and should be considered the opportunity to reduce production costs.

In the short term, he said that the abuse of intermediaries should be stopped, both for domestic production and for imports.

"Our regulatory authorities that protect the citizen suffer weaknesses. It takes serious commitment to give the power that these institutions deserve", concluded Mr. Stringa.