a few seconds ago“Open Balkan” Serbia expands trade gap, but improves with Macedonia
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)Improving diplomatic relations with Serbia and crowning the Balkan Open Initiative (Open Balkans) has significantly increased the trade volume between the countries, especially with Serbia and Macedonia part of the initiative. INSTAT official data shows that this year's first four-month trade deficit with Serbia has increased significantly since the year [...]
INSTAT official data shows that over the first quarter of this year's trade deficit with Serbia has increased significantly since 2017, when the idea of the common market took shape, while for the same period the trade balance with northern Macedonia has improved.
Serbia-Albania, trade deficit expands by 48% from 2017 to 2022
INSTAT data shows that the commercial deficit in the quarter of 2022 amounted to $8.7 billion by expanding by 48 percent since 2017. Serbian imports in Albania reached 16.7 billion dollars in the first 4-month 2022, undergoing growth of 12.8% compared to the same period in 2017. Higher growth has marked energy imports, cereals, beverages, and so on.
In the first four months of 2022, energy imports marked annual growth of 191 percent. But this increase came more from higher prices than from increasing quantity. Also, imports of cereals in value, Serbia's second most imported product marked annual growth of 48% in the first quarter of 2022 in proportion to the same period in 2021.
While Albanian exports during January-April 2022 marked an 8 billion-dollar value, expanding by 465 % compared to 2017. In proportion to the first quarter of 2021, growth was 164%.
Albanian exports to Serbia were carried out by the group “Landen, Djegae, Energy”, fertilizers and vegetables. Albanian agricultural waste exporters for the first time reexported $1.2 billion of waste money to Serbia (10 m) while other years the group's exports were zero.
Marketers of most of the agricultural chemical waste this year re-exported all reserves to Kosovo and Serbia due to the decline in demand on the domestic market for these products.
Trade with Macedonia Improves
Trade balance with Macedonia improved significantly in the first quarter of 2022, as our exports to Macedonia grew higher than imports. In January-April of this year, imports from Macedonia amounted to $4.8 billion, extending 98 % from 2017. Imports from Macedonia are dominated by the group of fuels, minerals and energy and construction materials, etc., while Albanian exports to Macedonia dominated the first quarter of the year 2022 by iron, fuels and energy and vegetables.
In January-April 2022, trade with Macedonia was in a surplus worth 1.3 billion dollars. During 2017-2022, trade Albania Macedonia has been deficit for Albania in addition to the first 4th quarter 2019 and the first 2022.
The open Balkans initiative aims at free movement of goods and people. But production businesses in Albania are concerned about increasing competitiveness. Our agricultural sector suffers from lack of subsidies, so Serbian products, especially dairy products, have already begun competing Albanian farms. Milk processing factories have begun to be supplied in Serbia with raw materials. /
