TIRANA, Feb. 23 – Albania’s exports showed signs of recovery in January 2017 fuelled by a strong recovery in oil and mining production as international commodity prices gradually pick up.
Data published by state statistical institute, INSTAT, shows exports picked up by an annual 15.5 percent in January fuelled by a modest recovery in the key garment and footwear exports and almost double exports of oil and minerals, which have been constantly losing ground since the mid-2014 slump in commodity prices, negatively affecting one of the key industries.
Exports of “minerals, fuels and electricity’ almost doubled to 3.9 billion lek (€28.7) million compared to January 2016 as oil prices picked up to about $56 a barrel, up from a record low of about $42 a year ago.
The traditional garment and footwear industry, employing about 100,000 people and relying on cheap labour costs continued leading Albania’s exports with an annual 7 percent recovery to about 9 billion lek (€66 million) last January. One of the country’s top employers, locally known as faà§on, the garment and footwear industry is mainly involved in cut-make-trim production mainly destined for Italy with only few companies upgrading to designing and branding stages.
Exports of construction materials and metals registered a slight increase as the country’s largest steelmaker, Turkey’s Kurum, has cut down production as it struggle to escape bankruptcy with loan restructuring having defaulted on loans of €230 million from international and local banks.
Albania’s exports registered modest growth of 0.1 percent in 2016 following a 5 percent decline in 2015 when exports returned to negative growth rates after contracting in 2009 soon after the onset of the global financial crisis.
The 2017 export prospects appear more optimistic as international oil prices are expected to slightly pick up with a positive impact on new drilling plans by oil companies.
Albania’s exports heavily rely on garment and footwear manufacturing as well as oil and base metals whose share in the country’s exports is estimated at two-thirds, making them vulnerable to international headwinds.
