Albania Exported €5.7mln Worth of Face Masks in Jan-Jul

TIRANA, October 7

Albanian textile and footwear manufacturing businesses switched to producing face masks following the suspension of contracts from their main buyers when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The Albanian textile and footwear manufacturing industry comprise some of the most advanced businesses especially in terms of export volume. 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, Monitor Magazine, 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 € 2.8 million worth of face masks, Greece €1 million, Germany €976,000, France €900,000, Belgium €278,000.
However, countries of the region were able to export more face masks to the EU. North Macedonia exported about €17 million worth of face masks, followed by Serbia with € 13,4 million, and Bosnia with €11.2 million.

Read also: Cloth Manufacturing – The Textile Industry in Albania

Source: Monitor, Eurostat