"Made in Albania" gains ground in the region/ More sales, less purchases. Albania strengthens positions with neighbors
Albania's trade with countries in the region is increasingly leaning towards exports. During the first seven months of 2026, Albanian sales to Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina increased significantly, while purchases from these markets fell, strongly improving the trade balance.
According to the data, exports to the five countries reached about 43.7 billion lek, up from 39.1 billion lek in the same period in 2025, with an increase of about 11.9%. On the other hand, imports fell from 32.5 billion to about 30.4 billion lek, or by 6.5%.
As a result, Albania's trade surplus with these markets expanded to around 13.3 billion lek, from just 6.6 billion lek a year earlier. So, within a year, the positive difference between exports and imports has more than doubled.
Even in volume, the situation is clearly in favor of exports, with around 1.08 million tons of goods sold in the region, compared to only 494 thousand tons imported.
Kosovo remains the main engine of Albanian exports in the region. In January-July, exports to it reached about 23.5 billion lek, 14.7% more than a year earlier. Imports from Kosovo grew more slowly, by 6.4%, to about 8 billion lek. As a result, Albania recorded a surplus with Kosovo of about 15.5 billion lek, up from 13 billion a year earlier.
A strong change is also observed with North Macedonia. Albanian exports increased by 7.3%, while imports fell by 15.4%. The trade deficit with this country shrank from around 2.1 billion lek to just 485 million lek, significantly approaching balance.
With Montenegro, imports fell by 34.3%, while exports increased by 8.2%. Albania thus secured a surplus of around 4.1 billion lek, higher than a year earlier.
Bosnia and Herzegovina also gave a positive signal, with Albanian exports increasing by 23.1%, compared to an increase of only 2.2% in imports.
The relationship with Serbia is different, which continues to be the largest source of imports between these countries. Albania imported about 12.9 billion lek of goods from Serbia, although 6% less than a year ago, while exports to it increased by 4.6%, to 5.9 billion lek. The deficit with Serbia remains high, about 6.9 billion lek, but has narrowed compared to a year ago.
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