TIRANA, Aug 19 /ATA/ – Albania’s exports were valued at 233 billion lek in the first seven months of 2024, down by 14.5 % compared to the same period of the previous year, according to data from Foreign Trade Report for the period between January and July, released by the National Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, on Monday.
According to INSTAT, unlike exports, imports to Albania rose 3.2 % year-on-year to 526 billion lek.
The country’s trade deficit expanded 23.6% year-on-year to 293 billion lek.
According to the Report, Albania’s annual fall in exports in the first seven months of the year was mostly affected by decreases in the export of minerals, fuel and electricity by 6%, textile and footwear group by 5.2%, construction materials and metals by 2.2% etc.
Growth in imports was mainly driven by machinery, equipment and spare parts group with an increase of 3.3%, food, beverages and tobacco up by 1.5%, construction materials and metals by 0.6%.
Trade with European Union member states accounted for 57.9 % of Albania’s total exchanges during the reviewed period.
INSTAT said that exports to EU accounted for 71.5% of the country’s total exports, whereas imports from the EU accounted for 51.9 % of the total.
Italy, Türkiye, China and Greece are the main trading partners, respectively accounting for 28.6%, 8.2 %, 7.7 % and 7.3% of the total trade exchanges.
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