After a slowdown in May and an improvement in June, exports accelerated again in July, expanding by 10.61% compared to the same month in 2025, according to INSTAT data.

However, the largest group in the country, which accounts for 26.3% of total sales abroad and is one of the main employers in the industry, that of textiles and footwear, has continued its contraction trend.

Meanwhile, other main groups such as construction materials, machinery and equipment, fuel, minerals and electricity recorded double-digit growth. Food products also showed positive growth, but only by 1%.

In July 2026, exports of goods reached the value of Lek 33.6 billion, increasing by 10.6% compared to the same period a year earlier and by 8.3% compared to May 2026, INSTAT reported.

During July 2026, the growth of exports by 10.6% was positively influenced by the groups: “Construction materials and metals” with +8.9 percentage points, “Minerals, fuels, electricity” with +5.3 percentage points, “Machinery, equipment and spare parts” with +0.9 percentage points, while negatively influenced by the groups: “Textiles and footwear” with -4.3 percentage points, “Chemical and plastic products” with -0.6 percentage points, etc. (Fig. 2)

For the 7-month period, the trend continued to be positive. According to INSTAT, for the period January-July 2026, exports amounted to Lek 227 billion, with an increase of 6.7 on an annual basis (from 6.1%, which was the expansion for the 6-month period). Even for the 7-month period, the main positive impact was provided by minerals, fuel and energy, construction materials and machinery and spare parts, while the most negative effect was from textiles and footwear.

Exports from the clothing and footwear industry have marked consecutive months of decline. In July, the decline was 13.8%, deepening compared to June's -3.8%. For the entire 7-month period, exports were Lek 59.7 billion, with a contraction of 7.7% (Lek -4.9 billion), making it the only large group with a negative trend.

According to exporters, the main reason is related to the decline of the euro. The common currency fell to its lowest historical level again in June, approaching 94 lek.

“Machinery, equipment, spare parts” is the group with the most positive performance in the first six months. For the period January-July, its sales reached Lek 26.6 billion, with an increase of almost 13.5%. In July, sales of this sector abroad increased by 7.8%, down from the pace of 30.1% in June. This group, where the main weight is held by the automotive industry, has recovered since the end of last year, when companies reported that orders increased. Some companies produce simple parts for work machinery and large transport vehicles, a segment that has been performing stably.

In July 2026, the countries with which Albania had the largest increase in exports, compared to July 2025 are: Greece (19.0%), Germany (2.5%), etc.

While the countries with which exports had the largest decrease are: Italy (2.0%), Kosova (2.4%), etc. In July 2026, the countries with which Albania had the largest increase in imports, compared to July 2025, are: Italy (0.3%), China (22.7%), etc.

In July 2026, exports of goods reached the value of Lek 33.7 billion, increasing by 10.6% compared to the same period a year earlier and decreasing by 5.0% compared to June 2026. Imports of goods reached the value of Lek 86.4 billion, increasing by 3.6% compared to a year earlier and by 3.5% compared to June 2026. The trade deficit for this month was Lek 52.8 billion, decreasing by 0.5% compared to a year earlier and increasing by 9.8% compared to June 2026.