TIRANA, Sept. 2 – A decision by the Albanian government to limit the amount of fuel that trucks can carry when passing the Albanian customs points to only 200 litres has angered Kosovo traders who claim a new barrier is being creating in the trade exchanges between the two countries.
Under a decision made last May, the Albanian government limited the amount of fuel motor vehicles can carry to Albania to only 200 litres, imposing taxes for every extra litre in a bid to stop smuggling of fuel from neighboring countries where fuel prices are considerably higher.
The restriction has considerably affected Kosovo importers who will have to buy more expensive oil while in Albania.
Fadil Berjani, the head of Kosovo’s Fuel Association, says Kosovo traders are facing heavy fines because of carrying more than 200 litres of fuel in their tanks, which is moderate amount for trucks with a capacity of more than 1,000 litres.
“At a time when the Kosovo market has started consolidating with the goods it imports from Albania, this decision by Albanian Finance Minister Shkelqim Cani is seriously endangering Kosovo’s imports from Albania,” said Berjani as quoted by Kosovo media.
Appealing to the Albanian government to review the decision, Berjani says the measure runs against the free trade agreement and principles by the World Trade Organization.
Albania’s exports to neighboring Kosovo registered a significant boost in the first seven months of this year fuelled by a series of deals lifting barriers which have often led to trade disputes.
Data published by the country’s state statistical institute, INSTAT, shows Albania’s exports to Kosovo rose by 47 percent to 13.7 billion lek (Euro 96 million) in the first seven months of this year compared to the same period last year, ranking the neighboring ethnic Albanian country the second most important destination of Albanian exports after Italy with 9 percent of the total.
Meanwhile, imports from Kosovo remained almost the same at 3.3 billion lek (Euro 23.4 million) in the first seven months of this year ranking Kosovo a minor trade partner meeting only 1 percent of Albania’s import needs.
Five years after the construction of the billion euro Highway of Nation cutting distance between the two countries, the increase in trade exchanges with Kosovo has been modest with exports to Kosovo accounting for 7.3 percent of the total and imports from Kosovo at a negligible 1 percent of the total.
Albania’s exports to Kosovo registered a 15 percent increase in 2014, climbing to a record high of 18.7 billion lek (Euro 131 million), ranking the neighboring country the country’s second most important destination of exports, according to INSTAT.
Back in 2013, several disputes over tariffs and barriers considerably affected trade exchanges between the two countries and for the first time since 2009, Albania’s exports to Kosovo registered negative growth rates.
Ongoing trade disputes between Albania and Kosovo over potatoes, cement, milk, flower, wine and pharmaceutical products have considerably curbed trade exchanges between the two neighboring countries in the past couple of years.
