Albania’s trade exchanges with Kosovo have considerably increased in the past few years after the construction of the Highway of Nation linking the two countries in the shortest possible way despite ongoing trade barriers and disputes over reference prices, but yet remain below their potential
TIRANA, Sept. 2 – Several days of protests by Albanian and Kosovo traders forced the Kosovo government to lift the trade barriers imposed on Kosovo customs points for Albanian exports. Both Albanian exporters to Kosovo and Kosovo importers had been protesting new customs clearance procedures in some new private terminals which significantly increased costs making Albanian exports to Kosovo non-competitive. Traders complained the application of a 40 Euro/truck parking tariff was unacceptable, damaging Albanian-Kosovo trade exchanges and favouring Serbian exports to Kosovo.
The solution came after Kosovo customs authorities agreed to temporarily lift the barriers and apply the old customs regime, lifting the new rules which made it compulsory for transportation vehicles to be parked and undergo customs clearance in predetermined private terminals which charged a Euro 40 day/truck.
“It has been agreed that there will be no such barriers between the two parties. Kosovo customs authorities have also announced that new procedures will be compiled within next October to further ease the movement of goods between the two countries,” said Alban Zusi, the head of the Albanian Association of Exporters last week.
Kosovo importers had also denounced the new procedures introduced in August 2013 which paralyzed Albanian-Kosovo trade exchanges.”This is not the first time. There have been several consecutive, tendentious cases, maybe for corruptive interests to prevent the normal development of trade with Albania,” said Hysen Gashi, a representative of Kosovo importers to Albania.
Kosovo customs authorities described the internal customs clearance procedures as a normal practice applied in all regional and European countries and a requirement under their Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU and visa liberalization process.
In response to new procedures applied by the Kosovo government last August, Albanian customs authorities introduced some barriers for Kosovo meat exporters to Albania, sparking a new trade dispute between the two neighbouring countries now linked by a Highway of Nation. Kosovo media reported Kosovo traders were unable to export their meat products to Albania early last August because of disputes over transportation conditions and storage temperatures with Albanian customs authorities.
The retaliatory action came after Albanian exporters complained Kosovo has been recently applying barriers to their products with the introduction of some private customs terminals in Prizren, Ferizaj and Prishtina where unaffordable tariffs have been set. Albanian exporters claimed the new tariffs have blocked some Albanian exports such as bricks because of the higher transportation costs and fees applied at the new terminals which charged Euro 40 per truck/day. They claimed the new measures applied by the Kosovo authorities were making their products uncompetitive and favoured Serb products.
Last March, the ban of two Albanian milk brands in Kosovo because of slightly higher levels of potentially carcinogenic aflatoxin sparked a new trade dispute between Albania and neighboring Kosovo.
Back in 2012, both Albania and Kosovo were involved in trade disputes over reference prices on cement and potato exports. In August 2012, the Kosovo government decided to lift the 35 percent reference prices on imported cement after fierce reaction by both the business community in Albania and Kosovo during its 50 days in force.
Earlier in 2012, Albania introduced reference prices on Kosovo potatoes which Kosovo considered as unacceptable under the CEFTA agreement and warned of imposing reciprocity measures. However, in April 2012 reference prices for Kosovo potatoes were restored to the previous levels.
Albania’s trade exchanges with Kosovo have considerably increased in the past few years after the construction of the Highway of Nation linking the two countries in the shortest possible way despite ongoing trade barriers and disputes over reference prices, but yet remain below their potential. Data from Albania’s state Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, show Albania’s exports to neighbouring Kosovo climbed to 17.4 billion lek (Euro 122 million) in 2012, up 18.5 percent compared to 2011. Compared to 2009 when Albania finished its part of the Durres-Kukes highway, exports to Kosovo have more than doubled. Metals and minerals account for around 70 percent of Albania’s exports to neighbouring Kosovo which ranked the second most important destination of Albanian exports in 2011 and the third top destination in 2012 after Italy and Spain.
However, a recent study has shown the Kosovo-Albania highway, estimated to have cost the Kosovo government around Euro 800 million, has served more to replace regional Montenegro and Macedonia border crossing points as transit countries to Albania rather than increase Kosovo- Albania trade exchanges. Trade with Albania had been on a constant rising trend even before the construction of the highway which has only replaced Montenegro and Macedonia as transit countries for Kosovo exports to Albania but has not any impact on the volume of exports, says a study by Kosovo’s KIPRED Institute.
