TIRANA, April 28 – Albania’s exports suffered an 8.4 percent decline in the first quarter of this year affected by a sharp decline in oil and mineral exports as international commodity prices remained at a record low.
Data published by the country’s state statistical institute, INSTAT, shows Albania’s exports dropped to about 53 billion lek (€380 mln) in the first quarter of 2016 affected by a sharp 44 percent decline in exports of “minerals, fuel and electricity” and 35 percent drop in exports of “construction materials and metals.”
The garment and footwear industry which produces the country’s top exports maintained its growth rates registering a 20 percent increase to 26 billion lek (€187 million) in the first quarter of this year.
Both oil and base metal prices at record lows have considerably affected exports, domestic production and government revenue, also leaving hundreds of oil and mining workers jobless during the past year.
The situation has been reflected in a drastic cut in chromium exports to China and iron exports to Turkey after the country’s largest steelmaker, Turkey’s Kurum, recently initiated bankruptcy proceedings.
