TIRANA, Feb. 3 – A significant drop in international oil and base metal prices is expected to have a negative impact on Albania’s exports which in 2014 registered their lowest growth rate since the onset of the global crisis in 2009.
Experts say the situation is a result of the poor diversification of Albanian exports which mainly rely on energy and garment and footwear products, accounting for 70 percent of total exports.
“This is a traditional weakness of the structure of exports whose diversification leaves much to be desired because of their dependence on international markets for base products such as minerals and oil, which hold a considerable share in our exports,” says Ilir Ciko, an economy expert.
“Exports will continue having a relatively poor performance even in 2015, but Albania could reduce the negative impacts by focusing more on tourism and attracting foreign direct investments which could stimulate exports,” said Ciko.
Data published by state statistical institute, INSTAT, show exports grew by only 3.75 percent in 2014, while imports were up by 6.7 percent, further widening the trade gap in a net importer such as Albania.
The poor performance was affected by lack of hydro-dependent electricity exports and the slowdown in exports in late 2014 by Bankers Petroleum, the country’s biggest exporter which has reduced production as global oil prices have halved since their peak in June 2014.
Albania’s exports grew by 15.6 percent in 2013, registering growth rates for the fourth consecutive year after the shrink in onset of the global crisis in 2009.
