Albanian exports increased by 12.9% in August compared with the same month last year, reaching 25 billion lek, the country’s statistics agency reported on Friday. However, exports fell 27.9% from July.
The Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said imports declined slightly by 2.7% year-on-year in August, and fell 19.6% compared with July, totaling 67 billion lek. The shift contributed to a 10.2% reduction in the trade deficit.
Export growth was driven primarily by “minerals, fuels and electricity,” which added 18.9 percentage points, while “machinery and equipment” contributed 1.5 points. Exports of “construction materials and metals” fell 6.7 points, and “chemical and plastic products” declined by 0.6 points.
On the import side, the drop was led by “machinery and equipment” and “construction materials and metals,” which lowered imports by 1.3 and 1.2 points, respectively. “Minerals and fuels” also contributed to the decline, reducing imports by 1 point.
Kosovo and Greece remained Albania’s main export markets, according to INSTAT.