Albania’s March Exports Up 78.1%, Trade Deficit Widens

TIRANA, April 21

Albania’s exports in March grew by 78.1 percent from a year earlier, the largest gain in over four years, data from the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) showed on Tuesday. March exports stood at Lek 32 billion while imports grew by 45.3 percent to Lek 64 billion. The trade deficit widened by 23.4 percent to Lek 33 billion. Based on the recent data, the growth in exports was helped by two categories of goods. First, exports of minerals, fuels, and electricity increased by 26.6 percent compared to March 2020. Secondly, exports of goods from the textile and footwear manufacturing industry increased by 22.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the data for the first quarter of 2021(January – March) confirmed an increase in exports by 21.9 percent or Lek 80 billion. In the meantime, imports in Q1 increased by 17.5 percent to Lek 162 billion.
In terms of export markets, in March Albania saw an increase in goods exported to Italy (83.7), Kosovo (92.8), and Germany (85.5 %). Moreover, the major trade partners in March 2021 were Italy, Turkey, Greece, and Germany.

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Source: INSTAT