Tirana - Post Report Question and Answers
How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
The cost of food here is very inexpensive compared to the prices in the States. Our family of 6 can eat out at nice restaurants for under $30. The produce is extremely fresh and if you're smart you can save a lot of money on food. - Apr 2018
International food can be expensive, but overall there is good access to food at relatively cheap prices. The fish and produce are very good. - Aug 2016
Groceries are very cheap. - Aug 2015
Groceries are relatively cheap, even at the most expensive stores (Conad and Carrefour). Produce and staples such as eegs purchased from the local markets are clean, high quality, and very inexpensive. You can find almost everything you need. - Aug 2014
Local produce is very cheap,and is often purchased at small markets near your home. Locally-consumed products, like rice, pasta, tomato sauces, fish and lamb, is all relatively cheap. Imported goods are very expensive. Overall, our grocery bill here is higher than in Washington, but we purchase a lot of imported goods (Italian cheeses, imported produce, imported meats). If you have access to the diplomatic pouch at the embassy, there are few things you won't be able to get here. Some things require a little searching (i.e., horseradish was spotted in a German drug store in the Block neighborhood, vanilla beans are sold at one grocery store on the highway to the airport, and one store near Embassy Row sells cheddar cheese). This is currently a consumables post, but a lot of people think that will change. With the opening of Carrefour last year, a lot of products are now available that weren't before. - May 2013
Fruit and vegetables and cheap and good. It's very nice. Everything else isn't that much more expensive, if at all. You can find most things. - Dec 2012
Most Americans shop at Conad(Italian), Euromax(German)and/or Mercator(Slovenian) grocery stores. The food at these stores is good quality but it can get expensive for Tirana. Unlike many smaller stores, these stores have generators. The power goes out many times a day on some days, so keeping food refrigerated and frozen is an issue. - Oct 2011
This is a consumables post. There are two grocery stores here: Euromax and Conad. At Conad you can get Italian products. Euromax has mostly German products. The items at the grocery store are expensive. There is local, fresh produce available. Markets are everywhere. Check what you buy as it may not always be the freshest. - Mar 2008
