Albanian companies increase trade exchanges toward EU countries

Albanian companies operating in the industry sector have increased trade exchanges toward European Union (EU) countries in the 2011-2014 period, Albanian National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said on Tuesday.

For the period of 2011-2014, the most frequently exported products were leather products, clothes and metal products, the agency said.

In 2014, the number of companies which exported their products to EU countries increased by 33.8 percent compared to 2011.

This means that 81.7 percent of Albanian companies exercising activity in the industry sector exported their products to European Union countries, according to INSTAT.

Italy is the preferred destination for Albanian exports, with 67.7 percent of the total value of exports being sent to the Italian market, it said.

In turn, the Albanian companies lowered the amount of exports toward Central European Free Trade Agreement countries in 2014 by 11.1 percent, compared to 2011. The amount of exports toward these countries was only 8.3 percent of the total amount.

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