Albanian textile and footwear manufacturing businesses switched to producing face masks following the suspension of contracts from their main buyers after the spread of Covid-19 disease.

However, the pandemic outbreak had a huge impact on the industry, due to suspended contracts and lack of raw materials.

On the other hand, the pandemic promoted a growing demand for face masks. Hence, many Albanian businesses saw an opportunity and switched from making clothes for brand designers to face mask manufacturing.

Referring to Eurostat data, Albania exported Euro 5.7 million worth of face masks to EU member countries during January-July 2020.

In terms of destination markets, Italy imported Euro 2.8 million worth of face masks, Greece Euro 1 million, Germany Euro 976,000, France Euro 900,000, Belgium Euro 278,000.

However, countries of the region were able to export more face masks to the EU. North Macedonia exported about Euro 17 million worth of face masks, followed by Serbia with Euro 13.4 million, and Bosnia and Herzegovina with Euro 11.2 million.