Exports, however, fell 4.3% compared with November, INSTAT said.

The increase was driven mainly by minerals, fuels and electricity, which contributed 3.0 percentage points, followed by construction materials and metals at 2.4 percentage points and machinery, equipment and spare parts at 1.2 percentage points.

Negative contributions came from food, beverages and tobacco as well as chemical and plastic products, which together reduced growth by 0.5 percentage points.

Imports totalled 80 billion leks in December, rising 1.3% year on year and jumping 12.6% from November.

As a result, the trade deficit stood at 53 billion leks, narrowing 0.8% from December 2024 but widening 23.7% compared with the previous month.

For the full year 2025, exports fell 6.1% from 2024 to 346 billion leks, while imports edged down 0.8% to 887 billion leks, INSTAT said.

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