As Albanian families face soaring food prices, Greece has launched a national initiative to reduce the cost of basic products. Starting today, over 1,600 products in the Greek market will be sold at reduced prices, with discounts reaching up to 30% in some cases.
According to Eurostat data, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices in Albania increased by 3.2% in July 2026, compared to the same month a year earlier. In the European Union,
the increase was only 0.6%.
This means that the pace of food price increases in Albania was about five times higher than the EU average.
Eurostat data shows another problem for Albanian consumers: not only are food prices rising faster than in the EU, but citizens' purchasing power remains much lower.
In 2025, food prices in Albania reached about 102.9% of the EU average level, up from 99.6% a year earlier.
So, in terms of purchasing power, a food basket that costs 100 euros in the EU costs an average of about 103 euros in Albania.
At the same time, per capita income in Albania is around 43% of the EU average, while current individual consumption per capita reaches around 48% of the European level.
This creates a strong gap between the prices Albanians pay and the income they have at their disposal.
On the other side of the border, Greece has entered a new phase of measures against the cost of living.
The National Price Reduction Initiative comes into effect today, August 31, initially covering more than 1,660 product codes. Greek consumers are expected to benefit from an average discount of around 7%, with discounts starting from 5% and in some cases reaching up to 30%. The initiative involves more than 90 supply companies, 12 supermarket chains and 3 chains selling school supplies and toys.
The majority of the products included in the initiative are everyday consumer items. Around 900 branded products, including high-frequency purchase items such as pasta.
Over 450 school products, with an average discount of about 10%. About 250 private label products, with an average discount of 7%. About 60 meat products, Greek and imported, with an average discount of 7.2%.
