Bajrami: Central Bank data show the economy is relying on consumption and imports

Hykmete Bajrami, an elected MP from the Democratic League of Kosovo, said the Central Bank of Kosovo’s Annual Report for 2025 confirms concerns over rising prices, the economic slowdown, and growing dependence on imports.

She stressed that, according to the report, Kosovo’s economy grew by 3.6 percent over the past year, while inflation reached 3.9 percent, driven mainly by higher food and energy prices.

Criticizing the caretaker government, Bajrami said the CBK’s forecasts for 2026 also remain worrying, as economic growth is expected to slow to 3.5 percent, while inflation is projected to climb to 6.7 percent.

In a Facebook post, she stated that during 2025, goods imports reached around 7 billion euros, while exports amounted to only around 869 million euros. According to her, this means Kosovo imported approximately eight times more than it exported.

Bajrami said the trade deficit reached around 6.1 billion euros, marking an increase of 12.5 percent compared with the previous year. She added that exports recorded a slight decline of 0.2 percent, while imports increased by 10.6 percent.

“Despite the report’s extremely cautious language and moderate interpretations, these are figures that cannot be concealed. This is the clearest picture of an economy sustained by consumption, imports and remittances — an economy suffering from high inflation, insufficient economic growth, a rising trade deficit, record imports and declining exports,” Bajrami added.

“According to the CBK, the price of electricity has increased by 11.5%, and when energy prices rise, costs go up for businesses, product prices increase, and in the end citizens pay for all of it, and this is a far higher cost than the 100 euros the government distributes during election periods,” Bajrami added.

She added that Kosovo needs an economic policy that shifts the focus back to domestic production, exports, lowering energy costs for businesses and creating jobs, because an economy that imports 7 billion euros and exports less than 1 billion euros is not sustainable, but dependent.