INSTAT data show exports in March 2011 totaled around 17 billion lek, down 15.4 percent compared to February 2011, but up 16.5 percent compared to March 2010
TIRANA, April 26 – After a drop in the first two months of this year, the trade gap in March 2011 rose to 26 billion lek (260 million dollars), up 47.2 percent compared to February 2011 and up 10.2 percent compared to March 2010, according to the latest data published by the country’s Institute of Statistics. The situation was a result of a drop in exports and a considerable growth in imports.
INSTAT data show exports in March 2011 totaled around 17 billion lek, down 15.4 percent compared to February 2011 but up 16.5 percent compared to March 2010. Meanwhile, imports rose 43 billion lek, up 13.9 percent compared to February 2011, and 12.6 percent compared to March 2010.
The European Union remained Albania’s main trade destination even last December accounting for 66.5 percent of Albania’s exports and imports. Italy continued remaining the top trade partner with 48.3 percent of total exports and 29.8 percent of imports followed by neighbouring Greece with 4.7 percent of exports and 9.9 percent of imports.
The import of excise goods, whose majority of around 74 percent is made up of oil products dropped 2.1 percent compared to last February. Excise good imports were worth 4.6 billion lek last March accounting for 10.7 percent of total imports.
The exports list in January-March 2011 was topped by “minerals, fuel and electricity” which almost doubled to 17 billion lek, up from 10 billion lek a year ago. Second came “textile and footwear products” whose exports slightly rose to 16.3 billion lek, up from 13.9 billion lek in the first three months of 2010, followed by “construction materials and metals” worth 11.6 billion lek compared to only 5.2 billion lek in the first quarter of 2010.
Meanwhile, the import list in the first quarter of 2011 is led by “machinery, equipment and spare parts” group at 22.3 billion lek, up from 19.8 billion lek during the same period in 2010. Second came “food, beverages and tobacco” at 21.7 billion lek followed by “mineral fuel and electricity” and “construction material and metals” at 19 billion lek respectively.
INSTAT data show the textile and footwear industry was the main exporter in 2010 with 55.6 billion lek followed by “minerals, fuel and electricity” with 45 billion lek, accounting for 34 percent and 28 percent of total exports respectively.
The garment and footwear industry, which employs more than 40,000 workers overcame the 2009 crisis when exports dropped by 8 percent because of lower demands from the traditional partners which were severely hit by the global crisis. INSTAT data show exports of this group grew by 13 percent year-on-year in 2010.
The “minerals, fuel and electricity” exports more than doubled compared to 2009 thanks to huge electricity sales following heavy rains considerably improving the water levels in the country’s northern hydropower plants where officials were forced to open the gates several times to protect the dams, flooding thousands of hectares of land and hundreds of houses.
Albania is a net importer of food products with a considerable negative trade balance.
According to IMF’s projections, Albania’s trade balance (goods and service) will account for -22.7 of the GDP in 2010 and is expected to drop to -19.2 percent of the GDP only by 2013, down from an estimated -25 percent in 2009.
Figures for 2010 show that Albania recovered from the crisis and that it is reaching its usual pace of trade flows, according to a report by the Albanian Centre for Competitiveness and International Trade (ACIT)
Albania trade deficit at the end of 2010, amounted to 319 billion ALL and decreased by 2.6% as compared to 2009. The boost of exports is a main factor in this positive performance of the trade balance.
