BoA study shows economic recovery

TIRANA, Nov. 28 – The Bank of Albania published data that show how the country’s economy, which was severely hit after the energy crisis in the last months of 2005, has recovered and now shows a normal rate of growth. The private sector contributes 80 percent of the country’s GDP. Private investments have been steadily increasing. The average growth rate for the last eight years is 7 percent. A significant change can be seen in the different sectors that contribute to the GDP. For example, agriculture has declined considerably, especially compared to the planned-economy years. This has led to a large volume of food product imports.
The total annual rise in sales has been 11 percent, with trade volume still being the principal factor, which has contributed 5.7 points to the increase. The service sector has recorded a growth, with major contributors being real estate transactions and financial services. The financial sector is one of the booming areas of Albanian economy, with a rich network of foreign-owned banks in the market. The building industry has reported to the bank sales figures for the first half of 2006 that show an increase of 12 percent. The industry sector has contributed to 26 percent of total sales in economy maintaining a stable rate of growth. The major contributing sub-sector is the reprocessing branch, which increased sales by more than 14 percent. The energy and water sector still remains a very problematic part of the Albanian economy. The legal consumption of energy which can be duly billed has not changed, and slight losses have been recorded in the energy distribution network.