Slovenian business to enter Albanian market

TIRANA, March. 7 – The Slovenian companies seem to have taken the invitation of Prime Minister Berisha made last year, in a meeting organized by Chamber of Commerce, to enter the Albanian markets quite seriously. Thus Mercator Slovenia, one of the largest European business conglomerates that deals with retail trade as well as “Intereuropa”, the powerful transportation corporation active throughout the Balkans seem to be among the interested parties to catch a grab of the Albanian consumer base. Slovenia’s accession into the EU has helped the Slovenian business to extend their activities in the markets of Central and Southeastern Europe. According to market and economy experts the Albanian retail markets is quite disorganized, especially when compared with regional markets and neighboring examples. The high number of small shops which trade without paying Value Added Tax on their sale records and without the obligation to hand out retail receipts makes competition practices unfair and unregulated. This factor has kept many investors form wanting to disburse their capital in the Albanian market. Retail markets in Albania generate around 500 million euros of revenues. Only rare cases of organized retail trade have been recorded in the country thought the economic legal framework has existed since 1991. The market is fragmented though the specific industry branch has been on the steady increase. There are a few big supermarkets in Tirana and Durres. Data from the National Statistics Institute (INSTAT) show that during 2006 the retail trade increased by 30 percent. This suggests an annual rate of growth of 100 million euro, an attractive background for investors in the field.