The Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in a drastic rise in oil prices across Europe, due to the fact that Russia is Europe’s main oil supplier.

These price hikes have also started to have an impact in Albania, where a liter of oil is selling at 260 ALL (€2.11 euros), compared to 190 ALL (€1.54 euros) a few days ago.

How is the crisis being reflected in Kosovo?

In Kosovo, a liter of oil is selling for €1.75 euros.

“In recent days we’ve seen a 15-cent rise of oil prices in Kosovo,” – said the head of Kosovo’s Oilmen Association, Fadil Berjani during an interview for Euronews Albania.

The amount of oil by-products that can be bought in Kosovo’s domestic market has also been limited across numerous vendors, said Berjani.

“This isn’t so much about how high prices will rise, but whether or not we’ll have enough supply,” – he added.

In addition, Berjani maintained that Kosovo’s market is directly linked to the Albanian one, seeing that the majority of Kosovo’s oil gets imported through Albania.

According to official data on imports, we are currently facing an urgent crisis, said Berjani, while emphasizing that the oil crisis will trickle down to each and every sector of the economy.

At the moment, Europe is facing an ongoing supply crisis, which has also affected oil prices.

After Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, prices along with the demand for oil in European and international markets have spiked.

The United States and the UK have started blocking their imports of Russian oil, but they still haven’t announced what their alternative sources will be.

During a press conference yesterday, Albania’s PM Edi Rama, called on citizens to start saving on their electricity usage as the country could most probably be facing shortages of both energy and oil.

Kosovo’s government, on the other hand, decided to set a price ceiling on March 1, for all consumer prices for oil and energy along with settling on a trade margin for wholesale and retail markets, with the goal of protecting regular customers from harsh fluctuations in prices, while also eliminating possible disruptions in the oil derivatives market in Kosovo.

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