Italy and other EU countries are Albania’s most important trade partners

The tendency of exports and imports of Albanian companies in relation to CEFTA and EU countries seems to have changed in the 2014, compared to the trend in 2011.

According to a report of INSTAT on the percentage of exports and imports with European Union countries and CEFTA countries, the Albanian companies which operate in the industry sector have increased trade exchanges toward EU countries. For the period of 2011-2014, the most frequently exported products were leather products, clothes and metal products.

In 2014, the number of companies which exported their products to EU countries increased by 33.8% compared to 2011. This means that 81.7% of Albanian companies exercising activity in the industry sector exported their products to European Union countries. Italy is the preferred destination for Albanian exports, being that 67.7% of the total value of exports was sent to the Italian market.

In turn, the Albanian companies lowered the amount of exports toward CEFTA countries in 2014 by 11.1%, compared to 2011. The amount of exports toward these countries was only 8.3% of the total amount.

Speaking about import figures, Albanian companies from the industry sector imported only 58.3% of the total amount from European Union countries, decreasing by 7.9% compared to 2011. Italy is still the most important trade partner of Albania even in terms of imports, since companies imported about 67% of the total amount of imports from Italy.

News source: ATA

Photo credits: bob / Flickr