Consumption of excise goods rises in first half

TIRANA, Aug. 13 – Despite the escalating crisis in the first half of this year, Albanians have not cut down on luxury products. Data from the General Customs Directorate show all fuel, cigarette, coffee and beer imports recovered in the first six months of this year, registering slight increases in the volume of imports. Fuel imports during the first six months of 2012 rose by 2.2 percent to 175.214 tonnes, tobacco imports by 18 percent to 1,531 tonnes, coffee imports by 9.3 percent to 3,538 tonnes and beer imports by 1.8 percent.
The increase in spending on the so-called luxury products comes at a time when total imports dropped by 2 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2012, according to INSTAT data. Domestic consumption, the key driver of the Albania economy continues struggling as shown by the performance of value added tax and excise tax.
VAT, which indirectly measures consumption, grew by a mere 1.4 percent while the excise tax levied on fuel, tobacco and alcoholic beverages was down by 0.4 percent compared to the first half of 2011.