June 19 (SeeNews) - Albania's trade deficit in the five months through May dropped 4.1% year-on-year, reaching 127 billion leks ($1.07 billion/954.6 million euro), the statistical office, INSTAT, said on Monday.
Exports rose 16.7% on the year to 111 billion leks, while imports increased 4.6% to 238 billion leks, INSTAT said in a statement.
In May alone, Albania's trade deficit totalled 31 billion leks, down 2.2% year-on-year.
Italy remained Albania's main trading partner in the first five months of 2017, absorbing 54.4% of Albania's exports and providing 29.7% of the imports into the country. Other major importers into Albania were Turkey, Germany, Greece, and China.
Albania exported mainly textiles, footwear, minerals, and construction materials and metals, and imported predominantly machinery, spare parts, food, beverages and tobacco, chemical and plastic products.
(1 euro = 133.036 leks)