Exports drop to single-digit growth

Imports of “machinery, equipment and spare parts”, an indicator also measuring private investments, rose by 7.4 percent to 54.5 billion lek (Euro 384.5 million), unveiling a recovery in business confidence.
TIRANA, Sept. 2 – Albania’s exports ended their double digit increase in July 2014 affected by a cut in electricity exports which this year have been at minimal levels due to prolonged drought.
INSTAT data shows exports slowed down to around 153 billion lek (Euro 1.078 billion) in the first seven months of this year, up 7.5 percent compared to the same period last year but down from 10 percent in the first half of 2014.
Garment and footwear products were the key driver of Albania’s exports in the first seven months of this year, growing by 25.4 percent while “minerals, fuels and electricity” continued leading the export list despite suffering a 7 percent decline mainly due to low levels of electricity exports. Canada-based Bankers Petroleum, which is country’s largest foreign investor and exporter, reported a 16 percent increase in oil sales in the first half of 2014.
Imports also slowed down to 8.2 percent in the first seven months of this year, down from 10 percent in the first half of the year, unveiling sluggish domestic consumption in a net importer such as Albania.
Imports of “machinery, equipment and spare parts”, an indicator also measuring private investments, rose by 7.4 percent to 54.5 billion lek (Euro 384.5 million), unveiling a recovery in business confidence.
Fuelled by a slowdown in exports and an increase in imports Albania’s trade gap widened to 152.5 billion lek (Euro 1.075 billion), up from 987.7 million euros in the first seven months of 2013.
Meanwhile, the export/import coverage ratio remained almost unchanged at 50.3 percent. In July 2014, trade exchanges with the EU accounted for 68.7 percent of the total with Italy, Greece, China and Turkey being the top trade partners with 37.8 percent, 7.2 percent, 7.1 percent and 5.8 percent respectively.
Exports to Kosovo were down by 3.8 percent to 9.3 billion lek (Euro 65.6 million) affected by ongoing trade disputes, yet ranking Kosovo the third top destination of Albanian exports after Italy and Spain, the latter mainly a result of oil exports by Canada-based Bankers Petroleum.
While the Albanian economy has considerably slowed down since the outbreak of the global economic crisis in late 2008, the good news is that exports have more than doubled in the past five years and the country has become less dependent on imports. The situation has considerably improved Albania’s trade gap although the slowdown in imports in 2012 and 2013 has been linked to a shrink in consumption and investments.
Data published by the country’s state Institute of Statistics show the export/import coverage ratio rose to 48.1 percent in 2013 up from a mere 24.4 percent in 2009 and an average of 24 percent from 2000 to 2008.