Economy and Innovation Minister Delina Ibrahimaj said the “Pasqyra Albania” platform will allow citizens to compare product prices and find where they can buy them more cheaply. At the same time, the government will use the platform to analyze how prices form across the entire value chain.
Ibrahimaj told ATSH that the initiative forms part of a broader effort to increase transparency and protect consumers. Meanwhile, the government is also working on a new consumer protection law and plans to establish a dedicated agency.
Initially, “Pasqyra Albania” will publish retail prices. It will then become the first stage of a broader price-monitoring mechanism.
In September, the platform will publish prices for a group of basic products. Furthermore, a Council of Ministers decision will determine which businesses must report prices, how often they must report them, and what penalties they will face for failing to do so.
However, the government does not intend to set prices in a market economy. Instead, the platform will increase transparency and help identify points in the supply chain where unjustified price increases may occur.
“We live in a market economy, where supply and demand determine prices, but competition also plays a role,” Ibrahimaj said. She added that the government had studied models from Hungary, Spain, France and Portugal to identify ways to influence prices without disrupting the market.
One of the platform’s main goals is to analyze profit margins and the entire value chain, from production or imports to the consumer.
For example, Ibrahimaj highlighted differences in tomato prices. A farmer in Lushnjë sold tomatoes for 50 lek per kilogram, while the price reached 120 lek in the Tirana market.
Therefore, the government wants to identify which stage of the supply chain causes the price increase. It can then determine how to intervene and help lower prices.
The government will decide on any intervention only after analyzing the data. If higher prices result from business costs, rents or employment expenses, the government could focus on reducing those costs. If taxes contribute to the increase, authorities could review the tax system. Meanwhile, if businesses apply excessively high profit margins, the government could take measures to discourage them, especially for basic consumer goods.
“We cannot say today what intervention we will make. We first need an in-depth analysis to identify where the price increase occurs and why,” Ibrahimaj said.
Moreover, greater price transparency could create positive pressure on the market and encourage businesses to offer more competitive prices.
The first monitoring phase will cover 10 products. These will include rice, pasta, oil, sugar, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, detergents and several fruits. The system will also monitor supermarket chains.
Later, the government plans to expand the mechanism to other stages of the supply chain. These will include importers, producers, collectors and traders. As a result, authorities aim to create a complete picture of how prices reach consumers.
By December, Ibrahimaj expects the full mechanism to be operational. It will analyze prices from imports or domestic production through to the final consumer. This will help authorities identify where price increases occur and develop policies to address them.
At the same time, the minister noted that external factors can also influence prices. International developments and conflicts, for example, have affected energy, fuel and food costs.
Ibrahimaj said the government wants to provide the public with a complete picture of price formation. It also aims to explain why prices remain high and take measures, within its powers, to reduce them.
The monitoring will not focus only on domestically produced food. In addition to food products, the first phase will also include detergents. The government will expand the list later.
Finally, Ibrahimaj said the state already has extensive data through the fiscalization system. This system provides information on invoices at product level. However, detailed price analyses have so far focused mainly on product groups and specific periods.
“Citizens want to know the price and where they can find it cheaper,” Ibrahimaj said. Therefore, “Pasqyra Albania” aims to turn this information into a regular and transparent mechanism that will both inform consumers and support the development of public policies.
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