Albania’s exports rose 2.6% year-on-year in the first seven months of 2025 to 239 billion lek ($2.49 billion), while imports fell 2.1% to 515 billion lek, narrowing the trade deficit by 5.8%, official data showed on Monday.
The National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said the trade gap for January–July stood at 276 billion lek, compared with 293 billion lek in the same period of 2024.
In July, exports increased 5.7% year-on-year to 35 billion lek, though they slipped 0.5% from June. Imports reached 83 billion lek, down 2.4% annually but up 9.1% on the month. The monthly deficit came in at 48 billion lek, 7.5% lower than in July 2024 but 17.3% higher than in June.
Minerals, fuels and electricity were the main contributors to export growth in July, adding 12.8 percentage points, followed by machinery and equipment (+1.2 pp) and food, beverages and tobacco (+0.8 pp). Exports of construction materials and metals fell by 8.0 pp, while chemical and plastic products dropped 1.3 pp.
Imports of construction materials and machinery posted declines, while food, beverages, tobacco and energy products recorded gains.
Despite the improvement, Albania’s trade deficit remains proportionally larger than in most Western Balkan peers. Serbia’s deficit fell 4.2% in the same period, North Macedonia narrowed its gap by 3.1%, while Montenegro saw only a marginal improvement of 0.6%. Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded the sharpest adjustment, with a 7% year-on-year decline.
INSTAT said the July data reflected resilience in Albania’s industrial exports, though the overall trade balance continues to weigh heavily compared with neighboring economies.