Minister Ibrahimaj Says “Price Transparency Platform” Will Increase Transparency and Enable Price Comparisons for Consumers

The goal of the “Price Transparency Platform,” a new digital platform for price transparency, is to give institutions more precise information about how prices are set across the supply chain while also allowing citizens to compare product costs and find out where they can buy them for less.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, Minister of Finance Petrit Malaj, and Minister of Economy and Innovation Delina Ibrahimaj met with representatives of the nation’s major supermarkets and important suppliers to talk about price transparency, supply chain margin analysis, and working with market operators to gather the required data.
According to Minister Ibrahimaj, the site will include product-level data rather than only broad inflation indications. She claims that the information will assist in pinpointing the stages of the supply chain where price hikes for both domestically made and imported goods take place.
The first half of the year saw a decrease in imported inflation, according to data from the Bank of Albania. In this regard, the minister stressed that while a more thorough examination of the variables influencing price levels in the domestic market is required, consumer prices should also reflect the strengthening of the lek and the decrease in imported inflation.
The Ministry of Economy and Innovation requested lists of the nation’s largest grocery chains’ best-selling goods, including food-basket items and hygiene products, both domestically made and imported, in order to fill the “Price Transparency Platform.” According to Minister Ibrahimaj, only one retail chain has submitted the needed list after the two-week deadline for data submission.
The notion of developing a list of inexpensive goods for vulnerable populations based on a model used in Greece was also considered at the meeting. Supermarkets would sell these goods with low profit margins or at no profit until the end of the year, according to the idea. The government claims that only one business has provided the pertinent list for this project thus far. The minister emphasized that businesses should consider consumer protection and the public interest in addition to the goal of making money.