Over the last six years, the country's garment manufacturing exports have suffered a decline of about 20%.

According to data from the Institute of Statistics, last year, Albania exported about 48 thousand 300 tons of clothing and footwear.

The main cause of this decline is the depreciation of the euro, causing exporters, who receive payment in euros and have costs in the lek, to face a decline in profits, as the local currency has strengthened against the euro.

Although the quantity of exports has followed a similar trajectory, where the value has fallen by 11% in the same period, exporters have managed to increase the ratio of the value of exported goods to the quantity.

The most difficult period for exports was in 2023 when the quantity of exported clothing and footwear fell by 13%. However, in this period, exporters, taking into account the depreciation of the euro, increased the value of goods sold. In 2022, 1 ton of goods for this category was sold for Lek 2.2 million, while in 2023 this value increased to Lek 2.3 million.

The same trend continued last year, where 1 ton of goods was sold for Lek 2.2 million. However, compared to 2020, the value for 1 ton of goods increased by Lek 300 thousand.

In this way, exporters are trying to compensate for the decline in the quantity of exports by keeping the value of payments for goods constant, even though the quantity is increasingly decreasing.

Another factor that has helped stabilize the value of goods is the expansion of new markets. According to data from INSTAT, Albania has explored new markets, where countries from Asia and Africa dominate.