In September, the consumer price index in the group "Bread and Cereals" increased by 4.3% compared to September 2020. These were the highest growth rates since January 2012, INSTAT reported. 

After a nearly 10-year hiatus, cereal prices began to rise sharply during 2020, spurred by an unusual worldwide demand for fear of moving jams. With the lifting of restrictions, prices had a stable period during the summer of 2021 but began to grow rapidly because the harvest was not conducive to the effects of climate change. 

A ton of wheat in international markets costs USD 740 over the weekend, up 26% year-on-year. Flour industrialists in the country claimed that the rise in prices in international markets is being gradually reflected. 

Since the beginning of the year, some bakeries in the country have increased the price of bread by ALL 10, bringing it to ALL 80. During August, the price of flour increased by ALL 5 per kilogram. Operators warn that flour growth will go up to 20%, due to the world wheat production crisis. High growth this year is also expected for the price of pasta such as imported and domestically produced, due to the strong rise in the price of wheat flour for their production. 

Adi Haxhiymeri, from the Association of Flour Industrialists, says the increase in the price of wheat will be temporary and the price will depend on next year's production. When the price of wheat rises farmers tend to produce more wheat. This behavior is reflected everywhere in the world. Increased production also leads to lower prices. 

However, the bread market in Albania has not shown resilience to periods when prices fall in international markets. The decrease is reflected in flour, but not in its by-products, especially bread. The price of the most consumed item in the country does not decrease in cases when the price decreases. 

Due to the high prices, farmers in the most productive areas of the country, Lushnja and Fier, have started planting wheat. From this year's harvest, they gained more than with the vegetables, which they have on the basis of cultivation. 

Many farmers who own tools that work the land, such as tractors, are also renting land to plant it with wheat, but more likely, if global production increases next year they will not receive the projected profits this year.

(Source: Monitor)