Albanian exports, less dependent on Italy/ "Made in Albania" change destination, Egypt surprises
During the first half of 2026, sales abroad increased by 6.1%, but the expansion was not evenly distributed among partners. Italy lost weight, Kosovo and Greece strengthened their positions, while China quickly rose among the top destinations.
Italy remains the dominant market for Albanian goods, but dependence on it has eased. Exports to this country fell by 3.3%, from 77.7 billion lek to 75.1 billion lek. As a result, Italy's share of total exports fell from 42.6% to 38.8%.
On the other hand, Kosovo consolidated its second place. Exports to it increased by 17.7%, reaching around 20.6 billion lek, while its share in the total expanded from 9.6% to 10.6%.
Another significant change occurred between Greece and Germany. Exports to Greece increased by 22%, bringing its share to 7.6%. This increase moved Greece into third place, ahead of Germany, which also recorded an expansion of 14.2%.
The surprise among major partners is China. Albanian exports to the Chinese market increased by 69%, from 4.6 billion to 7.8 billion lek. The United States also recorded strong growth, where exports to this market expanded by 65.4%.
On the other hand, Spain lost ground significantly. Exports to it fell by 37.4%, from 8.6 billion to 5.4 billion lek, while the total weight shrank from 4.7% to 2.8%. Spain thus dropped from fifth to seventh place among the main export partners.
Other contractions include Slovenia, Romania, Sweden and Israel. However, their impact on total exports is significantly more limited than that of the declines in Italy and Spain.
The most surprising figure of the six-month period comes from Egypt. Exports to this country increased from just 16.8 million lek to around 2.6 billion lek, moving Egypt from 61st place to 14th. The increase of over 15 thousand percent is spectacular, but should be read with caution, as it starts from an extremely low base.
Exports to Egypt were dominated almost entirely by mineral fuels and distillation products, with about 2.27 billion lek, or about 87% of the total. Iron and steel articles came in second place with about 293 million lek, while machinery, oilseeds, medicinal plants and other products had a much more limited weight.
Meanwhile, Venezuela represents the opposite movement. In the first half of 2025, Albania exported around 17.6 million lek of goods to it, while this year the value fell to zero.
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