The price of oil in Albania "exceeds", the well-known expert raises strong doubts: Markets are stagnant because there is no competition, since the moment when the transparency board was dissolved...

The price of fuel is reaching its peak in Albania, although in the international markets it has decreased by about 20% during the last two months.

Experts raise doubts that in our country, traders operate as a cartel.

"Since the moment when the transparency board was dissolved, it became a concentration or wholesale and retail oil trading company, a form of cartel is being formed and this is more evident. The difference in prices from one company to another has almost completely disappeared", said Klodian Muço.

For Muço, oil distributors in Albania predetermine prices, thus harming free competition in the market.

"If in the past there was a difference from 1 Lek to 10 Lek from one distributor to another, today these differences no longer exist. The removal of the famous transparency board that everyone criticized, now that it no longer exists, companies are operating in a way that predetermines oil prices. They abuse the traders, both the majority and the minority", said Klodian Muço.

The competition authority in a study of the industry in 2022 evidences almost no irregularities in the oil distribution chain, while this sector according to experts is owned by almost 75% by three large companies in the country. Experts call for increased monitoring.

"The competition authority must monitor this phenomenon. How is it possible that the prices in the international markets are falling, the dollar has depreciated against our local currency and the prices in the market remain almost the same. When we have a downward trend, the prices in the Albanian market react very late, while when they increase, the prices in the country react almost immediately", Klodian Muço.