Kosovo tax for Serbia – Albania’s exports to Kosovo increased by 35%

In November, Albanian exports to Kosovo increased by 35%. According to data from the Institute of Statistics, the first month of application of Kosovo’s 100% customs duty on Serbian products is reflected in a significant increase of Albanian exports to Kosovo market.

This decision was welcomed as a great opportunity by Albanian entrepreneurs and especially by manufacturing industries. Although the tax was imposed in the last ten days of November, it appears to have had significant effects on the balance of trade between the two countries.

For Albania, 2018 is heading towards closing with a better trade balance than last year. According to data from the Institute of Statistics, for November the country’s trade deficit fell again and so far, for 2018 the trade deficit has fallen by 7.5% compared to 2017.

Albanian exports also increased for November, though the growth was significantly lower compared to the previous months. According to Institute of Statistics , Albanian exports grew by nearly 7%. For 11 months, exports had a value of ALL 289 billion, up 15% compared to last year. In parallel, for this year, imports have increased by less than 3%, which consequently explains the significant improvement in trade balance.

For November, exports were again dominated by the textile and footwear group, which was again the main contributor to export growth. In 11 months, Albania exported the goods of this group to ALL 115 billion or 40% of the total value of Albanian exports. In November, it was the second most important group that includes minerals, fuel and energy.

This is believed to have come from the cessation of energy exports, which especially in the first half of the year had made a major contribution to the growth of exports. Changes in the energy situation in the country are also reflected in imports figures. For the “mineral, fuel, energy” group, imports increased by 32% in November. However, the group that heads imports for this year remains the capital goods. For 11 months, Albania has imported over 1 billion euros of machinery and equipment, which shows a high performance of investments for this year as well.

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