Albanian exports, excluding oil, experienced a record decline of 28 percent in the first two months of 2025, according to INSTAT data. Domestic production in most export sectors suffered a sharp drop, largely due to weak demand in international markets and temporary factory closures early in the year.
Despite this downturn, a significant increase in oil exports—up more than 64 percent compared to the same period in 2024—helped offset some of the overall decline. In February 2025, total exports of goods reached 34 billion lek, reflecting a 4.3 percent increase from February 2024 and a 7.3 percent rise from January 2025. Imports stood at 68 billion lek, down 8.6 percent from a year earlier but up 12 percent from the previous month. The trade deficit for February 2025 was 34 billion lek, marking an 18.6 percent decrease compared to February 2024 but a 17.1 percent increase from January 2025.
Several sectors contributed to the 4.3 percent rise in exports during February. The strongest positive impacts came from minerals, fuels, and electricity, which contributed 11.1 percentage points, followed by food, beverages, and tobacco with 1.7 percentage points, and machinery, equipment, and spare parts with 0.2 percentage points. However, other sectors had a negative impact, including construction materials and metals, which reduced exports by 6.9 percentage points, textiles and footwear by 1.0 percentage point, and chemical and plastic products by 0.8 percentage points.
Overall, exports in the first two months of 2025 increased by 4.6 percent compared to the same period in 2024. The annual growth was driven mainly by minerals, fuels, and electricity, which contributed 12.0 percentage points, and food, beverages, and tobacco, which added 1.1 percentage points. Meanwhile, the construction materials and metals sector negatively impacted exports by 6.3 percentage points, textiles and footwear by 1.7 percentage points, and chemical and plastic products by 1.0 percentage point.
These figures highlight Albania’s increasing reliance on oil exports to compensate for the downturn in other key sectors, as international demand remains weak and domestic production faces ongoing challenges.
