TIRANA, July 9 – The Albania economy returned to growth in the first three months of 2010 after a slowdown in the last quarter of 2009, data published by the country’s Institute of Statistics showed.
The Albania economy grew by 2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010 and 1.8 percent compared to the previous quarter.
The growth was mainly a contribution of the industry groups which rose by 27.5 percent compared to the previous quarter and 19.9 percent on the year, said INSTAT.
Meanwhile, the agricultural activity registered an increase of 2.3 percent annually and 0.9 percent quarterly.
The telecommunications market suffered in the first quarter dropping by 9 percent compared to the previous quarter, and growing 1 percent on the year.
The trade, hotel and restaurant branches increased by 4.8 percent annually and 0.4 percent on a quarterly basis. Meanwhile, the services branch grew by 1.7 percent on an annual basis and 1.4 percent quarterly.
The GDP, growth decreased by 0.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with the same quarter of 2008 and registered a 2.4 per cent drop compared with the third quarter of 2009.
Based on quarterly assessments of the country’s GDP, INSTAT calculated that Albania registered an annual growth of 3.3 per cent in 2009.
Construction in crisis
The construction sector continued its poor performance even in the first three months of this year, dropping by 21.1 percent year-on-year and 4.3 compared to the last quarter of 2009.
The construction sector was also the hardest hit in the last quarter of 2009, recording a 14.4 per cent drop compared with same period of 2008 and an 11.8 per cent decrease from the third quarter of 2009.
Construction has been one of the most dynamic sectors in the country contributing to more than 10 percent of the GDP in the past years and employing 18 percent of people working in the private sector.
Reports show citizens are becoming more reluctant to buy new apartments because of falling revenues and especially a sharp decrease in immigrant remittances. This is confirmed even by data of the Albanian Association of Constructors which says some 4,000 apartments remain unsold because of falling purchasing power.
