TIRANA, April 6 – Retail sales and the turnover index in key economic sectors registered most increases in the final quarter of 2015 despite an aggressive nationwide campaign against informality, estimated at 30 percent of the GDP.
Data published by the country’s state statistical institute, INSTAT, shows retail sales grew by an annual 6.8 percent in the final quarter of 2015 while the turnover index in the industry, energy, construction and services sectors was up by only 2.1 percent year-on-year.
The indicators come ahead of the GDP publication for the final quarter of 2015 scheduled for April 11.
The growth in retail sales was fuelled by a 20.5 percent increase in the volume of retail sales in non-specialized and specialized ‘food, beverage and tobacco’ stores.
Meanwhile, the volume of fuel retail sales dropped by 4.7 percent, declining for the fifth quarter in a row. The data unveils that Albanians have cut down on fuel consumption despite a significant drop in fuel prices, which due to the high tax burden applied on fuel, still remain among Europe’s highest.
Short-term data unveils the turnover index in the final quarter of 2015 was negatively affected by sharp double-digit declines in the extractive industries and transport and warehousing, apparently a result of a sharp cut in commodity prices.
The Albanian economy grew by an average of 2.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2015 and is on track to achieve its target, revised downward by 0.3 percent because of a sharp fall in international oil prices and spillover effects from the escalating crisis in neighboring Greece.
The 2016 prospects for the Albanian economy are mixed despite forecasts of a slight recovery fuelled by an expected boost in energy-related foreign direct investment and positive effects from reforms in the energy sector and the nationwide campaign against informality.
A sharp decline in international oil and base metal prices has also strongly affected investments and jobs and government revenue from the royalty tax in one of the top exporting industries.
The Albanian economy is expected to grow by 3.4 percent in 2016, following growth rates of 1 to 3 percent since the onset of the global crisis in 2009 and a pre-crisis decade of 6 percent.
