2009 Trade Gap Widens 0.2% to 2.374 Bln Euro

TIRANA, Feb 8؁lbania’s trade deficit rose by 0.2%to 328 billion leks ($3.244 billion/2.374 billion euro) last year, as exports fell much faster than imports, data of the statistics office showed on Monday.
The country posted a trade gap of 33.324 billion leks in December alone, 7.8% lower on the year, the National Statistics Institute, INSTAT, said in a monthly report.
Last year, imports fell by 2.0%to 430.9 billion leks, while exports slumped 8.5% to 103 billion leks.
European Union member states accounted for 79.2% of Albania’s exports in 2009 and for 64% of its imports. Italy and Greece were Albania’s main trading partners during the year.
Textile and footwear were Albania’s main export items with a share of 46.8%. Minerals and fuels ranked second with a 19.8% share, followed by construction materials and metals with 12.5%.
Albania imported mostly machinery, equipment and spare parts, which accounted for 22.8% of its imports. Imports of food, beverages and tobacco products came in second with a 17.3% share
The Balkan country ended 2008 with a trade deficit of 327.32 billion leks, up 17.3%from the previous year.