Opinion
Strong lek, lighter pockets
A record-low euro has winners and losers. The problem is that the losers, exporters, tourism and families living on remittances, have no protection at all.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 22, 2026, 11:40 · Updated 12:24 · 2 min read
On Wednesday the euro traded at 90.74 lek, its lowest level since it entered circulation. A year ago the rate was above 96 lek. On paper, this is the sign of an economy soaking up foreign currency: strong tourism, remittances, real estate investment and, according to many economists, money of unclear origin as well.
For those who earn wages in lek and have loans in euros, the strong lek is good news. Imports get cheaper, too. But for garment subcontractors, agricultural exporters and tour operators, whose revenue comes in euros and whose costs are in lek, every cent less is margin that disappears. And for a village pensioner who lives on the money a son sends from Italy, the euro's fall is a direct cut in income.
The Bank of Albania follows a free-floating exchange rate regime, in which the market, not the central bank, sets the rate. That is a legitimate choice. But one record low after another calls for more than a daily table of figures: it calls for a public explanation of where this supply of foreign currency is coming from and how much of it is tied to the real economy.
The government, for its part, has from time to time helped exporters with temporary measures. They do not solve the problem. What exporters need more is a lower cost of doing business, cheaper lek loans and a tax system that does not change every year.
The strong lek is neither a national victory nor a catastrophe. It is a signal. The risk is that we read it only as a figure on a board, while, cent by cent, it is changing the pockets of thousands of families.
