Foreign trade in goods has marked a significant slowdown in November 2025, with a simultaneous decline in exports and imports, reflecting structural pressures in the main productive sectors and in trade demand. According to official data from the Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, exports of goods reached the value of 28 billion lek, decreasing by 6.9% compared to the same period in 2024 and by 10.1% compared to October 2025.
Imports have also followed the same downward trend. In November 2025, imports of goods were estimated at 71 billion lek, with a decrease of 3.0% on an annual basis and 11.1% on a monthly basis. As a result, the trade deficit for the month was recorded at 43 billion lek, marking a slight decrease of 0.3% compared to November 2024 and a more significant contraction of 11.7% compared to October 2025.
In the period January-November 2025, exports of goods reached 319 billion lek, with an annual decrease of 7.0%, while imports were estimated at 807 billion lek, decreasing by 1.0% compared to the same period in 2024. In this period, the trade deficit widened to 488 billion lek, with an increase of 3.4%, reflecting a still significant gap between exports and imports.
According to the structure of exports, the annual decline in November was mainly influenced by the group “Minerals, fuels and electricity”, which contributed negatively with -4.0 percentage points, as well as by “Textiles and footwear” with -1.0 percentage points. Meanwhile, several groups made positive contributions, notably “Machinery, equipment and spare parts” with +0.4 percentage points, as well as “Chemical and plastic products” and “Construction materials and metals”, each with +0.3 percentage points.
In 11 months, the decline in exports was dominated by "Construction materials and metals" with -5.0 percentage points and "Minerals, fuels and electricity" with -1.6 percentage points, while increases were recorded in "Food, beverages and tobacco" and "Machinery, equipment and spare parts", signaling a still unstable export structure.
On the imports side, the annual decline of 3.0% in November 2025 was mainly driven by a decrease in imports of machinery and equipment by -1.5 percentage points, as well as construction materials and metals by -0.8 percentage points. In contrast, imports of food, beverages and tobacco made a positive contribution of +1.1 percentage points, reflecting increased consumer demand.
Regarding trading partners, in November 2025, the largest decrease in exports was recorded towards Italy, Germany and Spain, while increases were recorded towards Kosovo and Greece. In imports, a decrease was recorded from Italy, Greece and Germany, while imports from China, Turkey and the USA recorded a strong increase.
Trade with European Union countries continues to be dominant, accounting for 58.3% of total trade in November 2025. Exports to the EU accounted for 74.8% of the total, while imports from the EU accounted for 51.8%. The main trading partner remains Italy, followed by China, Turkey and Greece.
Overall, INSTAT data show that Albanian foreign trade is facing a slowdown phase, especially in exports related to energy and the processing industry, highlighting the need for deeper diversification of the production structure and increased competitiveness of exports in international markets./ekofin.al/
