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The Albanian economy, without shock absorbers, is building a lot, but protecting itself a little

2026-03-22 13:51:00, Ekonomi CNA

The Albanian economy, without shock absorbers, is building a lot, but protecting

In a world that is increasingly volatile, the economies that survive are not those that are not hit, but those that have shock absorbers: functional industry, productive agriculture, competitive exports and policies designed for difficult times.

In a world where geopolitical tensions have become almost routine, the global economy is moving on increasingly uncertain ground. The crisis in the Middle East is immediately reflected in oil prices, transportation costs and supply chains.

Oil has become more expensive, sea lanes have become more dangerous, and markets are reacting nervously. As always, the final wave hits the consumer, from energy bills to food prices.

The world today is more interconnected than ever, but that is precisely what makes it even more fragile. A regional conflict produces global effects in record time. The war in Ukraine showed this clearly: energy markets were turned upside down, supply chains were disrupted and it took years for the European economy to find a new balance. Globalization is no longer just an advantage, but also a source of danger.

In this reality, Albania cannot be an exception. A small and open economy does not have the luxury of being insulated from external crises. But the question that remains unanswered is another: how many shock absorbers does the country have to withstand these shocks?

At first glance, everything seems fine. In fact, if you believe the statistics, there is good news, the economy is growing at a steady rate, surpassing many European countries. The latest INSTAT data showed that the sector that is doing better is real estate.

Sales have increased by about 36% and construction continues to be the main engine of growth. Excellent news, if it weren't a bit ironic that, in a time of global crisis, our economy is finding security in bricks and concrete!

On the other side of the table, the industry has long entered decline territory, losing momentum and momentum. So we build more, but produce less. A model that works well in quiet times, but rarely withstands shocks.

The paradox becomes even stronger in agriculture. Albania has one of the highest weights of this sector in Europe, around 15% of GDP, much higher than the average of around 2% in the EU.

However, market shelves are filled with imported products and prices for consumers are increasingly higher, even exceeding the European Union average, as the Eurostat index recently revealed.

In an agricultural country, vegetables are becoming a luxury item. The most positive development in recent years has been tourism, but in this case it is a double-edged sword: It is possible that the crisis will bring us more tourists, as they will flee conflict zones.

But it could also happen that the situation escalates and they don't leave the house at all. No one can predict what will happen!

In this picture, the lack of shock absorbers becomes apparent. In Europe, countries like Italy have intervened with anti-crisis packages to cushion the blow from rising prices and global uncertainties, such as the recent move to temporarily reduce excise taxes. These are immediate but necessary measures to protect the economy.

In Albania, such reflection is lacking. There is no clear package to cope with external crises, while the economy continues to rely on sectors that provide quick profits but little sustainability.

In our country, they use these cases to set up Boards, or other mechanisms, that sometimes instead of helping, hit the weakest. Even the decision to reduce fuel excise by 20% has a negligible effect on the price, by 8-10 lek per liter, which fails to amortize the consecutive increases of almost 40 lek per liter in the last month.

And therein lies the crux. In a world that is increasingly volatile, the economies that survive are not those that don't get hit, but those that have shock absorbers: functioning industry, productive agriculture, competitive exports, and policies designed for tough times.

Albania, for the moment, seems to be traveling differently. An economy that builds a lot, but protects itself little. At a time when economic shocks are becoming increasingly frequent, the question is no longer whether the next crisis will come, but how prepared we are to face it.

And if the economy continues to rely on sectors that only provide apparent security, then any external shock will be felt more strongly than necessary. Because in the end, an economy without shock absorbers is not just exposed, it is unprotected./ Monitor Magazine