1st May of the crisis/ Fruits and vegetables become luxury products

2026-05-01 13:49:00, Denoncim CNA

While the whole world celebrates May 1, International Workers' Day, the atmosphere in the markets of Tirana is gloomy.

A CNA survey conducted on the ground reveals a shocking reality where the basic food basket has become an unaffordable luxury for the majority of the population.

According to CNA's observation conducted this Friday in the capital's markets, it was seen that prices have increased in a way that defies any economic reason for citizens' pockets.

Cherries, the symbolic fruit of the season, top the list of price increases, being sold at a scandalous price of 1,100 to 1,500 lek per kilogram.

1st May of the crisis/ Fruits and vegetables become luxury products

Likewise, plums have reached prices ranging from 500 to 600 lekë, while avocados are traded between 400 and 500 lekë.

Even fruits that were once considered common today have skyrocketing prices, apples range from 170 to 420 lekë, pears cost 300 lekë, while watermelons have reached 360 lekë per kilogram.

Even basic products in the basket are not left behind, with lemons being sold for 300 lek, strawberries for 150 to 200 lek, while oranges, bananas and tomatoes range from 170 to 180 lek per kilogram.

The question that weighs on the local and central governments is how a pensioner, a low-income family, or even a middle-income family can survive in the face of these figures?!

On a day when the dignity of work should be celebrated, citizens feel abandoned by the state's controlling mechanism. For the middle and lower classes, the May Day holiday table is poorer than before.

Retirees, who have contributed their entire lives to this country, feel revolted because their hard work and sweat is not enough for even the most basic purchases.

Meanwhile, the government is content with statistical statements, without intervening in the market that is destroying the Albanian family budget.

May 1 finds Albanian workers not seeking a better life, but working to have enough food on their tables./ CNA