UPDATE 1 - Albania's 8-mo Trade Gap Widens 17% Y/Y to 200 Bln Leks (1.6 Bln Euro)

In August alone the country's trade deficit was 27.8 billion leks, the office said in a monthly report, published on its website.

Exports in the first eight months rose by 18.2% on the year, while imports were 17.2% higher.

European Union member states accounted for 78.7% of all Albanian exports through August, while imports from the 27-member bloc made up 60.2% of the total.

Albania’s main trading partners during the period were Italy and Greece. A total of 26% of all imports originated in Italy and 15% came from Greece. Italy attracted 61% of Albania's exports, while Greece accounted for 9.5%.

Textiles and footwear were Albania's main export items with a share of 43% of the total. Construction materials and metals ranked second with 20.8%, followed by minerals and fuels with 18.9%.

The impoverished southeastern European country imported mostly machines and spare parts, which made up 20.5% of all imports. Food, beverage and tobacco came second with a combined share of 17.4%.

ALBANIA TRADE BALANCE (in billions of leks):

(1 euro = 123.0542 Albanian leks)