Gjirokastra garment producers facing Greek crisis impacts

TIRANA, June 11 – Garment and footwear companies in the southern region of Gjirokastra are striving to survive after demand from their partners in Greece has almost been cut. Local media report that only one of the five textile factories in the Gjirokastra region continues operating while others have temporarily seized work facing no new orders.
Mustafa Devolli, the head of the Gjirokastra Chamber of Commerce, says the factories in this region which were mostly subcontracted by Greek companies for the production of uniforms for the Greek military and policy, are severely suffering this year.
Currently only one of the Gjirokastra companies is working with a Greek partner operating in the German market. Some 300 households in the region of Gjirokastra have been affected by the situation.
Bardhi Sejdarasi, a representative of the National Chamber of Garment Producers says that a number of textile enterprises in other southern regions such as Korca, Berat, Pogradec and Vlora have also suspended work.
“As far as numbers are concerned some 50 enterprises are reported to have closed down, but their number is believed to be bigger. And there are legal reasons for not officially closing down and not laying off workers,” says Sajdarasi.
Albania has some 400 garment and footwear plants which employ around 100,000 persons, mostly women.
Albania’s garment and footwear producers have warned 2012 will be a tough year for the country’s biggest exporting industry following lower demand from crisis-hit Italy and Greece, Albania’s top trade partners. The Chamber of Garment Producers says textile companies have already started cutting jobs after the drop in exports in early 2012.
Known as the fa谮 industry, the garment and footwear industry was the country’s top exporter for 2011 with exports rising by 15 percent to around 64 billion lek (Euro 450 million). More than 80 percent of Albania’s total garment and footwear products go to Italy and the remaining minority share mainly to Greece and Germany.
Latest INSTAT data show garment and footwear exports dropped by 4.3 percent in the first four months of this year. The garment and footwear industry, Albania’s top exporter for the past few years, lost its lead position after the shrink widened to 4.3 percent. At 20.7 billion lek for Jan-April 2012, garment and footwear exports, 88 percent of which have Italy as their destination, now rank the second most important after “minerals, fuel, electricity” which now top the export list with 21.8 billion lek and no electricity exports during this period.