July "favors" exports, but textiles continue to decline/ Albanian goods find more market in Greece during the seventh month
Albanian exports continued to grow in July, supported mainly by construction materials, metals and the group of minerals, fuels and electricity. However, textiles and footwear continued to hold back sales abroad, while compared to June, exports decreased.
According to INSTAT data, in July 2026 exports reached 33.7 billion lek, increasing by 10.6% compared to the same month a year earlier. Compared to June, they fell by 5%. Imports reached 86.4 billion lek, with an annual increase of 3.6% and a monthly increase of 3.5%.
As a result, the trade deficit reached 52.8 billion lek. Compared to July of the previous year, it narrowed slightly by 0.5%, but compared to June it expanded by 9.8%, reflecting the monthly decline in exports and the increase in purchases from abroad.
The largest contribution to the annual growth of exports was made by construction materials and metals, with 8.9 percentage points, becoming the main engine of growth during the month. They were followed by the group "Minerals, fuels and electricity", with 5.3 percentage points, while machinery, equipment and spare parts contributed with 0.9 percentage points.
On the other hand, textiles and footwear remained the weakest point of Albanian exports, giving a negative impact of 4.3 percentage points. A contraction was also recorded in chemical and plastic products, with a negative impact of 0.6 percentage points, while leather and leather products also continued in negative territory.
Even in imports, the group of minerals, fuels and electricity provided the largest positive impact, with 1.5 percentage points. Food, beverages and tobacco contributed with 0.8 percentage points, while construction materials and metals with 0.3 points. The negative impact from other categories was much more limited.
In terms of trading partners, Albanian exports grew most strongly towards Greece, by 19%, while towards Germany they expanded by 2.5%. In contrast, exports towards Italy fell by 2%, while those towards Kosovo by 2.4%.
On the import side, China stands out, from where purchases increased by 22.7% compared to July 2025. Imports from Italy increased slightly by 0.3%, while they fell from Greece by 2.9% and from Germany by 9.2%.
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