The decline in Albanian exports due to the depreciation of the euro has been curbed... at least at the beginning of this year. From just over 32 billion lek a year ago, last month goods worth 33.5 billion lek were sold in foreign markets.
The increase is estimated at around 1.4 billion lek or 4.7 percent. The main contribution to this performance was made by the export of crude oil extracted from the Patos-Marinza fields, which expanded by 2 percent in February. With the exception of food and beverages, all other product groups are showing a decline, confirming that "the export crisis has not ended."
"We are not dealing with a single turning point. We simply have a group of products, in this case fuel, that has marked a significant expansion and consequently has affected the total weight. But the export crisis continues," economic expert Edison Zaçaj told A2 CNN.
The opposite happened with imports last month. Despite the increasing number of tourists, goods worth 67.5 billion lek were purchased from abroad. Compared to February of the previous year, the decrease is estimated at almost 6.5 billion lek.
"We have a consumption crisis which is expected to become even more severe in the future as a result of departures from the country. Tourists are not influencing the expansion of consumption and consequently the expansion of consumption and consequently the promotion of domestic production or imports," Zaçaj underlined.
With exports taking a small turn and imports declining slightly, the trade balance closed negatively for the country last month with a 34 billion lek deficit.
"We continue to have an unpromising balance that risks setting us back a long way in time with a significant trade deficit," the expert concluded.
Last month, Albania exported more products to Kosovo, Spain and Greece. On the other hand, Albanian companies have sent fewer products to Italy, Germany and Turkey. (A2 Televizion)
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