This Monday, Prime Minister Edi Rama presented the “Price Monitor” platform together with the “KURSE” initiative, which aim to ease the financial burden on Albanian families through coordination between the government, supermarket chains and suppliers.
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In his remarks, Rama emphasized that the agreement reached with five leading food retailers guarantees stable and reasonable prices for a range of products until January 12 of next year.
He noted that the initiative comes at a time when rising costs are affecting consumers globally.
He announced that more than 200 items are currently included in the scheme, while the goal is to increase their number to 1,000 by the end of the year.
Rama added that the process would also extend to smaller businesses and retail stores in order to involve as many market participants as possible.
The head of government clarified that the aim is not state control over prices, but rather the promotion of fair competition, greater transparency and cooperation in the interest of consumer protection.
“I am pleased that we managed to make this initiative a reality through understanding and agreement, because we are in a period when we must look beyond immediate profit, and respect for citizens is demonstrated by taking into account the situation in which we find ourselves—a situation that has affected the entire world through the general rise in costs, something typical of all countries.
We must take a step beyond the boundary between seller and buyer; we must find a way to offer an additional opportunity to people who are facing difficulties. Today, thanks to the understanding and cooperation of these five important food-trading entities in Albania, we have this monitor and this agreement in our hands for a number of items that will have reasonable and unchanged prices until January 12 of next year.
Various countries have taken similar steps, and when they have found common ground, there is no reason why we should not find it among ourselves. This is not the conclusion, but the beginning of a process in which we aim to involve more and more entities, including smaller ones and retail outlets, where, as the minister said, prices are being changed illegally and the law provides for fines if those prices prove to be speculative.
Our appeal will be for understanding and broad participation in this initiative. More than 200 items are included in the monitor, and by the end of the year we aim to reach 1,000. The entities update the prices on the monitor, and citizens are informed in real time.
Some voices are asking us to set prices, but this is impossible because, since 1990, we have jointly chosen to let free competition determine prices. I believe this will provide relief for consumers, it will require work on our part, and I would like us to promote this initiative.
There is no doubt that time, as always, will teach us new lessons. The experience of this program will educate us further. This monitor embodies the concept of the ‘Albania Monitor’, but we aim to take transparency to a higher level in every sector, so that everyone can see with their own eyes the facts and realities of daily life. Creating a single monitor, through which the state is accessible with one click and where people can learn about the facts and truths that emerge from them, is extremely necessary in this period. The Price Monitor is one of these components and is ready to be activated for citizens,” Rama declared.
