Drinking coffee in bars has become a lifestyle for Albanians, where many of them cannot start the day without coffee.
But at the beginning of this year, coffee imports for the month of January have decreased by 30% compared to January of last year, according to the data of the Ministry of Finance and Economy. At the beginning of this year, 534 tons of coffee were imported, the lowest amount since 2019.
In relation to the average coffee import for the month of January of the last 4 years (2019-2022), the decrease is 20%. The decrease in coffee imports started last year. In total, coffee imports for 2022 decreased by 14% compared to 2021.
The Association of Bars and Restaurants claims that the drop in imports has been influenced by increased coffee prices, with many operators stockpiling purchases in December.
The inflation of purchases for the end of the year is also emphasized by accountants, where according to Sotiraq Dhamos, service businesses always store purchased goods in December to amortize losses from price increases.
Representatives of the association also add that at the beginning of the year there is a 15 to 20% drop in coffee consumption due to the reduction in purchasing power from the general increase in the prices of food basket products.
In this period, the consumption of tea and alcoholic beverages has also decreased in bars and restaurants.
Vitin e kaluar, rënia e konsumit në këto sipërmarrje nisi që në muajt shkurt-mars kur pati rritje të çmimeve të produkteve të shportës, por edhe të lëndëve të para nga importi për shkak të luftës Rusi-Ukrainë. Ndërsa rritja e çmimeve të ushqimeve rriti presionin për shtrenjtim të çmimeve në bare dhe restorante.
Konsumi pati zvogëlim edhe në 2021, për shkak të kufizimeve të pandemisë.
Sipas të dhënave të regjistrit të bizneseve të INSTAT në vitin 2021 u mbyllën 854 aktivitete të shërbimeve të ushqimeve e pijeve, me rënie 5.2%.
Në vend kanë gjithsej 15,5 mijë bare, nga 22 mijë në vitin 2015, duke qenë aktiviteti i dytë më i preferuar në vend, pas biznesit të pakicës.
The sector is also facing another crisis, that of the lack of manpower. Until 2019, according to INSTAT data, there were about 45,000 people employed in bars and restaurants, where, however, it is estimated that the sector has high informality.
Many bar and restaurant businesses find it difficult to find new employees. Even the few employees who are left in the country demand high payments.
This situation made the activity of these structures even more difficult for the past year. According to the association's data, there are 15,000 job vacancies in bars and restaurants.
Published in Monitor
