Kosovo, one of three countries where Albania scored biggest export reduction

Albanian exports have recognised a strong decline in March, as a result of border closure measures and measures to prevent spread of pandemic in Albania and other countries, which led to the suspension of economic activity in the country.

The Albanian Statistics Institute (INSTAT) announced on Friday that Albania's overall foreign trade volume suffered a reduction of nearly a quarter during March 2020, KOHA writes.

Italy, Kosovo and Greece are the countries with which Albania suffered the largest reduction in exports. In March last year, Albania has exported goods worth 22.5m euros to Kosovo, while in March of this year the value of exported goods is 12.8m euros, or 43.1% less than the same period last year. With Italy, Albanian exports have scored a 48.5% drop, while Greece has a 24.6% drop.

The decline in exports to Italy at 48% points to the crisis of one of the world's worst hit countries in the pandemic. Italy is the country that has the second highest number of infections in proportion to the population after Spain, and is the first country to have the country's entire population shut down in Europe. Even for the first quarter of this year, Kosovo ranks in the first three countries where Albania has scored a decrease in exports.