Export Crisis Continues, Growth Backed by Oil
Exports recorded a decline in all groups for January 2025 compared to the same period a year ago, except for oil which contributed to the overall increase in exports by 4.9% year-on-year.
According to data from the country’s statistics office, INSTAT, in January 2025, exports of goods reached a value of Lek 31 billion, increasing by 4.9% compared to the same period a year earlier and 21.7% compared to December 2024.
On the other hand, imports of goods reached the value of Lek 60 billion, increasing by 0.1%, compared to a year earlier and decreasing by 23.5% compared to December 2024.
Meanwhile, the trade deficit for January reached Lek 29 billion, decreasing by 4.5%, compared to January 2024 and decreasing by 45.4%, compared to December 2024.
During January 2025, the increase in exports of 4.9% was influenced by the groups: “Minerals, fuels, electricity” with a rise of 13.0 percentage points, “Food, beverages, tobacco” with 0.5 pps, “Machinery, equipment and spare parts” with 0.3 pps. The groups that had a negative impact were: “Construction materials and metals” with a 5.6 pps decrease, “Textiles and footwear” with 2.3 pps, “Chemical and plastic products” with 1.1 pps, etc.
In January 2025, the countries with which Albania had the largest increase in exports, compared to January 2024 were: Kosovo (91.6%), Greece (2.0%), Spain (86.0%), etc. While the countries with which exports had the largest decrease are: Italy (17.7%), Germany (1.6%), Turkey (43.1%), etc.
In January 2025, the countries with which Albania had the largest increase in imports were: Italy (5.9%), China (45.4%), Greece (2.1%), etc. While the countries with which imports had the largest decrease compared to January 2024 are: Turkey (9.1%), Germany (2.0%), USA (55.5%), etc.
Trade with EU countries accounts for 56.9% of all trade. In January 2025, exports to EU countries account for 68.2% of total exports, and imports from EU countries account for 51.1% of total imports. The main trading partners are: Italy (27.2%), China (9.9%), Greece (7.7%), and Kosovo (7.0%).
