Albania Leads Europe in the Share of Food Spending, with High Prices for Dairy, Oils and Vegetables

In 2025, Albania recorded the highest share in Europe of spending on food relative to the size of its economy.

Nominal spending on food products reached 20.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), accounting for approximately one-fifth of the economy. The European Union average, meanwhile, was just 6.2%.

The difference is also evident when compared with countries in the region. In Montenegro, food spending accounted for 19.9% of GDP, in Bosnia and Herzegovina 19.1%, in North Macedonia 17.9%, and in Serbia 12.8%.

This high share is mainly linked to low incomes. Households with more limited financial resources focus heavily on meeting basic needs, with food taking the largest share.

In higher-income economies, once food needs have been covered, a larger portion of the budget can be used for housing, transport, healthcare, education, culture, entertainment and savings.

Individual consumption per capita in Albania, calculated according to purchasing power, stands at 48% of the EU average, while income per capita reaches just 43% of the European average.

Despite this, the share of food spending in the economy is more than three times higher than the European Union average.

According to Eurostat data, the value of food spending in Albania amounts to €5.1 billion.

An analysis by category shows that several basic products have a particularly large share in the Albanian economy. Albania ranks first in Europe for spending on milk and dairy products, oils and fats, as well as vegetables.

The category “milk, other dairy products and eggs” accounted for around 4.5% of Albania’s GDP in 2025. In the European Union, the average for this group was 1%, and no other country in the European table recorded a higher share.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, this group represented 4.2% of GDP, in Montenegro 3.5%, in North Macedonia 3.4% and in Serbia 2.2%. In Greece, the share was 1.7%, while in Italy it was 1.2%.

Thus, milk, dairy products and eggs have a share in the Albanian economy 4.5 times higher than the EU average.

There is no data showing that Albanians consume more dairy products than Europeans. The gap appears to be linked more to the high prices in this category.

During 2025, Albania recorded an index of 135.6 for milk, dairy products and eggs, compared with the EU average of 100.

Prices were 35.6% above the European average, placing Albania third among Europe’s most expensive countries for this group. In value terms, spending on milk, dairy products and eggs amounted to €1.1 billion.

Compared with the region, the difference was even more pronounced. The index for this group was 107.1 in Serbia, 95 in Montenegro, 92 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 89.6 in North Macedonia. Albanian consumers bought these products around 27% more expensively than Serbians, 43% more expensively than Montenegrins and more than 50% more expensively than consumers in North Macedonia.

Oils and fats also show a major difference. In Albania, this category accounted for 1.4% of GDP, compared with just 0.2% in the European Union.

Relative to the size of the economy, Albanian spending on these products was seven times higher than the EU average. The value of this spending was €356 million.

Albania also had the highest share for this group among the European countries included in the table. In Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, oils and fats accounted for 0.6% of GDP, while in Serbia they accounted for 0.4%. Greece, which was relatively high compared with the EU average, stood at 0.7%.

In 2025, prices for oils and fats in Albania were also above the European average. Their index reached 112.5, or 12.5% above the EU average.

However, Albania was not the most expensive country in the region for this category, as Serbia had an index of 128.4 and Montenegro 119.4. Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded an index of 99.2, while North Macedonia stood at 95.

Vegetables are another category with an unusually large share. The group classified by Eurostat as “vegetables, tubers, plantains and pulses” represented 3.9% of Albania’s GDP in 2025, almost five times the European Union average of 0.8%. Approximately €1 billion is spent on this group each year.

Albania shared the highest level with North Macedonia, where vegetables also represented 3.9% of GDP. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the share was 1.7%, in Montenegro 1.6%, in Serbia 1.4%, in Greece also 1.4% and in Italy 1.2%.

Unlike dairy products and oils, vegetable prices in Albania remained below the EU average, but were significantly higher than in most countries in the region.

The price index for vegetables was 91.2, almost the same as in Serbia, where it was 91. Nevertheless, prices in Albania were around 20% higher than in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 22% higher than in Montenegro and 27% higher than in North Macedonia.

Meat remains the product that absorbs the largest share of food spending in Albania. The category of meat and slaughterhouse products accounted for 4.7% of GDP, compared with an EU average of 1.3%. This share was around 3.6 times higher than the European average, while spending in value terms reached nearly €1.2 billion.

In the region, only Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina had a higher share for meat, at 5.6% of GDP each. Serbia recorded 3.6%, while North Macedonia recorded 3.4%.

In terms of prices, meat in Albania was just 2% cheaper than the EU average, with an index of 98, but it was the most expensive in the region. The index was 86.1 in Serbia, 83 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 77.6 in North Macedonia and 71 in Montenegro.

Fruit and nuts also accounted for a significantly larger share of the Albanian economy than of the European Union. Spending on this category represented 1.9% of GDP, compared with 0.5% in the EU, or nearly four times more. Montenegro and North Macedonia had higher shares, at 2.3% each, while Bosnia and Herzegovina stood at 1.7% and Serbia at 1%.

Fruit and nut prices in Albania stood at 92.1% of the EU average. However, the difference with the region’s cheaper markets was considerable: the index was 71.2 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 52.4 in North Macedonia.

Compared with North Macedonia, fruit and nuts in Albania cost around 76% more. Spending on cereals and cereal products amounted to 2.1% of GDP, more than twice the EU average of 1%. Albania was not the highest in the region for this category, as Montenegro reached 3.5%.

Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded 2.7%, North Macedonia 2.5% and Serbia 2.2%.

The high share of food in the Albanian economy is now accompanied by another development. For the first time in 2025, food prices in Albania exceeded the European Union average.

The food index reached 102.9, or 2.9% above the EU average. A year earlier it was 99.6, while in 2022 it was around 85. Albania is the only country in the region where food prices have exceeded the European average. Serbia, the second-most expensive, had an index of 96.6, Montenegro 84.6, Bosnia and Herzegovina 84.6 and North Macedonia 74.3.

When food and non-alcoholic beverages are calculated together, Albania’s index rises to 103.8. In Serbia it was 97.1, in Montenegro 86.5, in Bosnia and Herzegovina 85.8 and in North Macedonia 74.8.

In Albania, food and non-alcoholic beverages cost around 7% more than in Serbia, 20% more than in Montenegro, 21% more than in Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearly 39% more than in North Macedonia.

Of the 12 detailed food groups published by Eurostat, prices in Albania are above the European Union average in half of them. These include milk and dairy products, oils and fats, sugar and confectionery, non-alcoholic beverages, as well as prepared food. Meat and fish, meanwhile, are close to the European average.

Non-alcoholic beverages, on which Albania spends 1.4% of GDP compared with 0.6% in the EU, had a price index of 114.3 in 2025. This level was 14.3% above the European average and the highest in the region.

The index for sugar, confectionery and pastry products was 123.1, or 23.1% above the EU average. Meanwhile, prepared food and other food products reached an index of 128.2, making them 28.2% more expensive than the European average.