Rising exports keep trade deficit narrow

TIRANA, March 28 – Albania’s trade deficit dropped to 17.7 billion lek (177 million dollars) in February 2011, down 13.4 percent compared to January 2010 and 14.5 percent lower year-on-year, according to the latest data published by the country’s Institute of Statistics.
The situation was a result of a considerable increase in exports and moderate growth in imports. INSTAT data show exports in February 2011 totaled 20 billion lek, up 35.7 percent compared to January 2011 and 77.4 percent more compared to February 2010. Meanwhile, imports rose 17.9 percent year-on-year and 7.2 percent compared to the previous month, reaching 37.7 billion lek.
The European Union remained Albania’s main trade destination even last December accounting for 59.6 percent of Albania’s exports and imports. Italy continued remaining the top trade partner with 39.7 percent of total exports and 28 percent of imports followed by neighbouring Greece with 4 percent of exports and 12.2 percent of imports.
The import of excise goods, whose majority of around 80 percent is made up of oil products rose 4.1 percent compared to last January. Excise good imports were worth 4.7 billion lek last February accounting for 12.5 percent of total imports.
The exports list in January-February 2011 was topped by “minerals, fuel and electricity” which more than doubled to 12.3 billion lek, up from 5.2 billion lek a year ago. Second came “textile and footwear products” whose exports slightly rose to 10.5 billion lek, up from 8.8 billion lek in the first two months of 2010, followed by “construction materials and metals” worth 7.5 billion lek.
Meanwhile, the import list in the first two months of 2011 is led by “machinery, equipment and spare parts” group at 13.76 billion lek, up from 7 billion lek during the same period in 2010. Second came “food, beverages and tobacco” at 13.7 billion lek followed by “mineral fuel and electricity” at 12.8 billion lek.
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.