Fuel imports in 2012 dropped to 431,835 tonnes, down from 457,297 tonnes in 2011 and 432,131 tonnes during the onset of the global crisis in 2009
TIRANA, May 1 – Affected by crisis, Albanians are spending less on luxury items such as fuel, cigarettes, coffee and beer. Finance Ministry data show imports of these key excise goods were all at lower levels compared to the onset of the global crisis in 2009 when Albania became one of the few countries to register positive growth rate of 3 percent. Fuel imports in 2012 dropped to 431,835 tonnes, down from 457,297 tonnes in 2011 and 432,131 tonnes in 2009. Fuel prices currently stand at record high levels of around 190 lek/litre compared to an average of 150 lek/litres in 2009. The situation in the first quarter of this year appears more optimistic with fuel imports at 81,501 tonnes, better compared to the first quarters of 2012 and 2011 but yet lower compared to 2010 and 2009, according to Customs Administration data.
Rising tobacco prices have also forced Albanians to cut down smoking or switch to domestically-grown rolled cigarettes. Finance Ministry data show imports of cigarettes reached 3,630 tonnes in 2012, up 12 percent compared to 2011 but down 11 percent compared to 2009. In the first quarter of 2013, cigarette imports were at 628 tonnes, registering the lowest quarterly imports since 2009. With around 40 percent of the population, Albania has one of the highest smoking rates in Europe.
Famous for its coffee culture, the crisis has had a minor impact on coffee consumption. Some 6,884 tonnes of coffee were imported in 2012, up 5 percent compared to 2011 but down 0.5 percent compared to 2009. Coffee imports in the first quarter of 2013 were at 1,571 tonnes, 8 percent lower compared to the first quarter of 2012 but 6.5 percent higher compared to the first quarter of 2009.
While fuel, cigarettes and coffee are net import products, the lower consumption of imported beer might also be attributed to the increasing number of local breweries. Data show beer imports have been on a constant downward trend dropping from 36,601 tonnes in 2009 to 29,674 tonnes in 2012. Beer imports in the first quarter of 2013 dropped to 3,500 tonnes down from 8,600 tonnes in the first quarter of 2012 and 5,300 tonnes in 2009.
Starting from Oct. 1 the customs administration has taken over the collection of all excise tariffs, stripping the tax authorities of collecting excise on cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and domestically produced fuel by the ARMO refinery in an effort to improve excise collection, the second most important tax after VAT.
Excise tax collection dropped by 9.9 percent to 36 billion lek in 2012 accounting for 12 percent of total tax income. The value added tax which indirectly measures consumption dropped by 2.2 percent in 2012 accounting for around 40 percent of total tax income.
