TIRANA, July 26 /ATA/ Albanian exports to the United States of America increased by about ALL 700 million during the first 6 months of the current year, compared with the same period last year.
Referring to the statistics provided by INSTAT on foreign trade, exports to the United States of America are estimated at ALL 2.1 billion during the period January-June from ALL 1.4 billion in the first six months of 2020.
Meanwhile, imports from the USA have also increased significantly. According to the same source, imports reached ALL 6.1 billion during the first 6 months of this year, from about ALL 4.3 billion that were in 2020.
Albania exports to the United States a wide range of products, mainly food products, medicinal plants and metals.
Moreover, Albania is considered an important trader of medicinal herbs in the American market. The increase in exports has also been favoured by the abolition of the customs tax. Since 2012, Albania has entered the list of 128 countries that can benefit from a preferential system that eliminates the customs tax for a long list of products.
At the beginning of October 2020, Albania and the United States signed a memorandum of economic cooperation in Tirana which is expected to significantly affect the opening of a new chapter for direct investments not only in the USA, but in foreign countries as a whole.
The memorandum will have a positive impact on Albanian exports, significantly improving the trade balance.
Through this memorandum, there is being realized a 50-year-old dream, which is the construction of the Skavica Hydro Power Plant that transforms Albania from a country rich in hydropower resources, but continuously dependent on the weather and imports, into a sovereign country in terms of energy production. /a.a/p.s./
