Albania’s real exports fell 7.4% in Jan–July

TIRANA, Aug 19 – Albania’s exports shrank 7.4% in the first seven months of 2025 once fuel transits to Kosovo are excluded, reversing an apparent recovery shown in official data.

INSTAT reported total exports at 238.5 billion leks ($2.5 billion), up 2.6% from a year earlier. But the increase was largely due to a methodology change: since January, fuel transit shipments to Kosovo are classified as exports.

Fuel sales to Kosovo jumped to 26.4 billion leks in Jan–July from 2.7 billion leks a year earlier, inflating the export total by 23.6 billion leks. Removing that effect, exports stood at 215.3 billion leks, below 232 billion leks in the same period of 2024.

Mineral fuels alone would have shown just 3 billion leks in exports without the transit reclassification.

Analysts warned that without a clear breakdown of transits, the official data may give a misleading picture of export performance at a time when Albania’s key sectors are still struggling abroad.