Qershor newsletter ang

MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TRADE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP Newsletter Vol.1, No.6

Content

Better ranking for Albania in the Foreign Policy Index for 2014 The American "Foreign Policy” magazine has published for the second consecutive year the Baseline Profitability Index “Where to invest around the world”, 2014 Edition.

In this publication, Foreign Policy indicates that the ranking of Albania in attracting FDI moved from 71th place in 2013 to the 53th in 2014 among 112 countries.

The Foreign Policy Report is based on eight factors, that are able to forecast what investors expect in places where they want to invest. These factors include economic growth, financial stability, physical security,corruption, dependence on government, cooperation between local partners, capital controls and exchange rate.

Albania stands ahead of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia in the new published ranking. The publication of Foreign Policy Index is based on Baseline Profitability Index.

“Once again, the BPI suggests that not every fast-growing country is a perfect target for foreign investment. Many other factors determine just how much of that growth will be transformed into a cash return back home. Plenty of them are not included in the BPI, but it still contains much more information than a simple economic growth forecast”, highlights the report.

Better ranking for Albania in Foreign Policy Index for 2014 Ahmetaj: The business climate is improving The corporate governance, Deputy Minister Paskali participate in the IFC conference The Minister Ahmetaj on an official visit to China The Minister Ahmetaj meets with the Minister of Trade of China The Minister Ahmetaj in the Conference of the Ministers "China- Central and East Europe" The Albanian business in the Economic Fair of Ningbos in China The business promotion, MEDTE organizes the National Mobility Fair The Multilateral Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility Albania-Slovenia, commitment to increase the economic and trade relationships The Ministry presents of the Action Plan for Women's Entrepreneurship in Albania

Foreign Policy indicates that the ranking of Albania in attracting FDI moved from 71th place in 2013 to the 53th in 2014 among 112 countries

The Minister Ahmetaj in Berlin- Albania, the country of the possibilities The Directory of Innovation, Technology and Statistic present the GIS System Dependent Institutions Statistical Information

Ahmetaj: The Business Climate is Improving On June 4, 2014 the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Arben Ahmetaj, participated in the conference “The Challenges of Economic Development”. This conference covers the conclusions of "AmCham Business Index" report and the key points of World Bank report “Doing Business 2014”, and was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce.

The Minister Ahmetaj, together with Ms. Elira Sakiqi, the representative of IFC in Tirana, Mr. Genti Daci, Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce and Ms. Ornela Liperi, representative of the Monitor Magazine composed the panel discussions on the effects of “Doing Business” report results on the economy and foreign investment.

The Minister Ahmetaj highlighted that the conclusion of the report produced by the American Chamber of Commerce and the World Bank, despite the difference in the used methodology, reflect the same truth, which the government is trying to change. In this regard, the Minister of Economic Development listed the measures taken by the government to change the economic situation, as payments of debts to the business, the automatic VAT refund, the creation of National Economic Council, which reflects many of the government initiatives, the mostly proposed by the business, etc. Referring to the report of the American Chamber of Commerce, the Minister Ahmetaj stressed the fact that the index of perception in this report is positive, which means that the perception of the private sector for 2014 is positive.

According to the Minister, the improvement of the business climate is one of the priorities of the government and this is associated with a specific set of policies to facilitate doing business in Albania.

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The Minister Ahmetaj highlighted that the conclusion of the report produced by the American Chamber of Commerce and the World Bank, despite the difference in the used methodology, reflect the same truth, which the government is trying to change

The Corporate Governance, Deputy Minister Paskali Participates in the IFC Conference The Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Brunilda Paskali participated in the conference organized by International Financial Corporate on Corporate Governance, on June 2-3 in Vienna, Austria.

During this conference were conducted consultations with regulator experts and stock exchanges, representatives from training organizations and directors of Institutes of Corporate Governance from all the world, where they share experiences to the consulting, developing and implementing the Scorecards of Corporate Governance. In her speech, the Deputy Minister Paskali stressed that the reform of Corporate Governance is vital for the developing countries, seeking to attract foreign investment, strengthening this way their economies, because if the countries does not implement strong practices of corporate governance, then the capital and the investments will go somewhere else.

“I want to make clear that the Code it is not a mandatory regulation for implementation by commercial companies. Just like in the other side, the government has no legal obligation for the approval of this Code. The Code serves as a ‘reference guide’, based on the best practices regarding internal governance of companies not registered in the stock exchange”, said the Deputy Minister Paskali. The most important issue, according to the Deputy Minister, is that the public and private sector should work together to develop a set of rules and laws that will help business organizations in their governance.

The Minister Ahmetaj on an Official Visit to China On June 7, the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Arben Ahmetaj, started an official visit to China, where he met with the authorities of the province of Ningbo and the local government chairman, Dr. Liu Chi. The Minister Ahmetaj made a presentation of the Albania and the opportunities that our country offers to invest, stressing that the government is committed to bring sustainable economic development and improvement of living conditions for the Albanian citizens.

The Minister Ahmetaj said that the Chinese companies in general and those from Ningbo province are welcomed to visit Albania and to see the possibilities that it offers, especially in the agriculture. The Minister of Economic Development highlighted the possibilities of developing of the Albanian ports, particulary the port of Shëngjini, which is one of the three deepest ports in the Mediterranean. According to the Minister Ahmetaj, the Chinese experience in the port management may well serve to the Albanian ports, in order to have a very important role in Southeast European countries, serving as an entry point for the transport of goods to the European Union and countries of the region.

On his part, Dr. Liu Chi said he was honoured to host the Albanian delegation in Ningbo and made a short presentation of the city. Z. Chi said that is important to intensify the collaboration between Ningbo and Albania, in various areas of the economy and that various big enterprisers from the region are interested to evaluate the investment opportunities that Albania offers, in various sectors.

The Minister Ahmetaj Meets with the Minister of Trade of China During his official visit to China, the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Arben Ahmetaj, had a bilateral meeting with the Chinese Minister of Trade, Gao Hucheng.

The Minister Hucheng expressed his pleasure for the progress made in the framework of economic cooperation and cooperation between businesses of the two countries, noting that the volume of trade between them has grown steadily in recent years.

Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship The Minister Ahmetaj stressed the importance that said that between the two countries are still has for Albania the increase of economic many opportunities to explore and to cooperation with China. The Minister of Economic increase the levels of mutual trade.

According to Minister Ahmetaj, Albania is in a great economic moment and the Chinese companies can use Albania to expand not only within its territory, but in the entire Balkan region and beyond. The Minister highlighted several major infrastructure projects that could be projects with interest for China, as Arber Road, Blue Highway, Railways, or other projects in energy, agriculture and fish farming. At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Commerce of China encouraged the Albanian and Chinese companies to participate in trade fairs to be held in the two countries and said that the Chinese government supports Chinese companies to invest in Albania in various sectors of the economy.

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The Minister Ahmetaj participates in the Conference of the Ministers "China- Central and East Europe"

The Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Arben Ahmetaj, participated in the Conference of the Ministers of Economy and Trade of China and Central and Eastern Europe, which was held in China, on June 8th. "This meeting is a perfect display of our will to cooperate, despite the distance and the past in a new light of the economic challenges that defies the borders and traditions," the Minister said.

The Minister Ahmetaj said that Albania is a small country in the Balkans, but a country that has signed the CEFTA free trade agreement, which expands the level of market in 26 million customers. "We stand at the gates of Europe, on the doorstep of the biggest market in the world," the Minister said. The Minister of Economic Development stressed the challenges that lie ahead, as the recent global crisis has exhausted some of the main sources of funding, necessary for economic relations between each other and the ability to compete in the global market.

In this sense, the Minister said, is important to focus the attention on external financing and foreign direct investment.

According to the Minister Ahmetaj, China can play a major role in many development and integration programs that are no longer national, but regional and that’s why all countries want to benefit more cooperation and more trade expansion. To illustrate his opinion, the Minister Ahmetaj mentioned the Silk Road, which was once the most dangerous and profitable road of trade and of economic exchange. “We all must commit to continuing this path, in modern terms, to increase connections and cooperation in industry, communication, infrastructure and tourism”, the Minister said.

The Minister Ahmetaj said that Albania is a small country in the Balkans, but a country that has signed the CEFTA free trade agreement, which expands the level of market in 26 million customers.

"We stand at the gates of Europe, on the doorstep of the biggest market in the world," the Minister said.

The Albanian Business in the Economic Fair of Ningbos in China The Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Arben Ahmetaj, together with his Chinese counterpart, Gao Hucheng and other ministers participated in the Ministers Conference "China - Central and Eastern Europe", visited the Ningbo’s Economic Fair. In this Fair, Albania was represented by 10 of the most prominent exporting business, from clothing and footwear manufacturer, to producers of wine, olive oil and other products Made in Albania. The Albanian stends was visited by the Minister Ahmetaj and the Minister Hucheng who appreciated the Albanian products and the presence of the Albanian enterprisers in this Economic Forum.

The Chinese Minister of Trade stressed that the future trade collaboration between the two countries should be strengthened for the benefit of both countries, assessing the quality of the Albanian products.

The Business Promotion, MEDTE Organizes the National Mobility Fair On June 6, 2014 the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, through the National Center of Fairs, started the first Edition of the National Mobility Fair, called “TUREHO”, which was held in Vlora, on June 6-8.

The National Mobility Fair is organized in the framework of promoting business policies across the country, increasing the regional cooperation between business and promoting public offered to their.

The Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Brunilda Paskali, the ambassador of Macedonia in Tirana, Storjan Karajanov, the consul of Italy in Valona, Stefano Bergesio, and representatives of local government visited the Fair. Around 95 companies participated in the Fair, specialized in food products, beverages and shipping. Besides Albanian companies present were 10 companies from Macedonia and five companies from the region of Puglia in Italy.

National Mobility Fair in Vlora was visited from five thousand visitors, of whom 150 market operators.

The Director of National Center of Fairs, Elisabeta Katiaj, stressed that in the National Mobility Fair gives a special importance the increase in the credibility of products Made in Albania. The National Mobility Fair continued the second Edition in the city of Berat, on June 13-15, and the third Edition in the city of Korça, on 20-22 June.

For more information regarding the National Centre for Fairs please visit www.qendrapanaireve.com

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The Multilateral Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, in collaboration with the UNDP ((The United Nations Development Program) and the Albanian CSR Network, organized on June 13, the meeting of the Multilateral Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility

During this Forum, the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, presented the main findings of the National Report on Social Corporate Responsibility. The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship was represented from the Deputy Minister Brunilda Paskali. Attending the event were the ambassador of Germany in Tirana, Hellmut Hoffman, the Un Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Zineb Touimi-Benjelloun and the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare and Youth, Gentjana Sula.

The report presents a detailed analysis of three main groups: government, private sector and the civil society. The implementation performance of the Corporate Social Responsibility in 2013 is analyzed through introducing the 29 indicators, while also making comparisons with countries in the region. The Deputy Minister Paskali is convinced that in the report seems clear that the mission of the government is to keep an open and comprehensive dialogue, to create an attractive environment for the implementation of CSR principles for all companies operating in the local market. “Addressing a strategic method to the implementation of the principles of CSR takes a special importance for every company, because it influences the growth and their competitiveness�, the Deputy Minister said.

Albania-Slovenia, Commitment to Increase the Economic and Trade Relationships On June 16-17, in Slovenia took place the discussions of the 2nd Session of the Albanian-Slovenian Joint Commission “On Economic and Trade Cooperation", which was finalized with the signing of the Protocol from the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Brunilda Paskali and the general Director for Economic Diplomacy in the Ministry the Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, Stansilav Rascan.

Both parties assessed positively the achievement of the objectives in the framework of the last session and stressed that the future cooperation will be extended to all areas

Both parties assessed positively the achievements of the objectives in the framework of the last session and stressed that the future cooperation will be extended to all areas such as trade, business promotion, tourism, energy, finance, environment, agriculture, transport, infrastructure, in accordance with the Priorities of the Albanian and Slovenian governments.

In the context of the session, the parties agreed to promote institutional cooperation, between drafting and implementing the economic policies, between the agencies in the service of business and investment, about the accreditation issues, metrology etc. In her speech, the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Brunilda Paskali made an overview of economic developments in the country and stressed that the economy has expectations for growth, thanks to the reforms undertaken by the government. During the Session was signed the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Albanian Investment Development Agency and its Slovenian homologue agency (SPIRIT), in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Brunilda Paskali and the Foreign Ministers of Albania and Slovenia, Ditmir Bushati and Karl Erjavec.

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The Ministry Presents the Action Plan for Women's Entrepreneurship in Albania On June 20, the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship presented the Action Plan for Women's Entrepreneurship in Albania from 2014 to 2020, with the technical support of UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) and the financial support of Swedish Government. The objective of this Action Plan is the possibility of creating an environment that encourages more women to grow their businesses and to bring this fact to the attention of policy makers and donors.

Present at the event were the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Brunilda Pascal, the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare and Youth, Gentjana Sula, the representative of UN Women in Albania, David Saunders, and representatives from several government ministries and the Association of Women in Albania. The Action Plan for Women's Entrepreneurship will accompany the Development of Business and Investment Strategy. The Action Plan is based on five main pillars, which are: the support with promotion policies for women entrepreneurs; the capacity building of women entrepreneurs; increasing access to finance for women entrepreneurs; networking of actors in support of women entrepreneurs and supporting women in rural areas. The Deputy Minister of Economic Development highlighted the fact that the Plan has been widely discussed with stakeholders and the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship continues to take measures to support women entrepreneurs. The details of the Action Plan for Women Entrepreneurship in Albania, including the mission, operational structures, key interventions and implementation challenges, were presented by Ms. Pranvera Kastrati, Head of Sector in the Directorate of the Support of Entrepreneurship, in MEDTE.

The Minister Ahmetaj in Berlin- Albania, the Country of the Possibilities The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, in collaboration with the Albanian Embassy in Germany, Deutsche Bank and DIHA (Deutsche Industrie- und Handelsvereinigung in Albanien), organized on June 18, in Berlin, the German investors conference.

In this conference, the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Mr. Arben Ahmetaj, was together with the Prime Minister Edi Rama.In his speech, The Minister Ahmetaj presented the advantages of investing in different areas of the Albanian economy.

Before more than 140 German investors, the Minister of Economic Development Minister talked about the opportunities in priority sectors of the new economic model of Albania. “After a careful analysis initiated long ago, the government has defined not only the sectors that have not performed good, but also new sectors with high development potential.

Precisely these sectors should be the focus of investors, as their growth opportunities year after year are very high, "said the Minister Ahmetaj. According to the Minister of Economic Development, if the rate of economic growth in Albania will return to the historical average rate of 6% per year, the income of Albanians will converge with the European income per capita in 22 years. This means that some sectors will grow much faster than other sectors while the economy will go into full efficiency. During his speech, the Minister Ahmetaj spoke about Albanian's potential for export or for import into the European Union, potential that is 40% below for exports and 33% for imports. According to the Minister, despite that the trade with many countries is recording growth stable rates, there are a lot of opportunities for growth.

"Albania is the undiscovered Europe by investors and this is an opportunity for German business, as we are very interested to have quality foreign investment, that can improve the performance and the markets", concluded his speech the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship.

According to the Minister of Economic Development, if the rate of economic growth in Albania will return to the historical average rate of 6% per year, the income of Albanians will converge with the European income per capita in 22 years.

The Directory of Innovation, Technology and Statistic present the GIS System On June, 2014 The Directory of Innovation, Technology and Statistics held a meeting with the directors of departments and heads of sections of the Ministry, and introduced the GIS application (Geographical Information System).

Two representatives of the Institute of Statistics, Ervin Shameti and Ledio Seferkolli, explained the details of the GIS during this meeting.The GIS application which can show CENSUS’s data in comparative digital maps format was used by INSTAT for Census 2011. The purpose of this presentation was to introduce the system because it is aimed to system in the Ministry of Economic Development,

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People can use this application in the website or download it for their cellphone.

This application that is open for the public can show all the state properties by the means of digital maps. Using this technology is a innovative achievement for the ministry of Economic Development, Tade and Entrepreneurship.

Trade and Entrepreneurship, for all state assets and properties.

The 9th Symposium of the International Metrology in Cuba On June, 12, 13 and 14 was held the 9th International Symposium of Metrology in Havana, Cuba. The Symposium was organized by OIML, organization which General Directorate of Metrology is a member, National Bureau of Standards (NC) and Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of the Republic of Cuba (CITMA).

Representatives of Metrology from all over the world attended the symposium. During this symposium the Albanian delegation had several meetings with different representatives of Legal Metrology and metrological institutes from countries like Russia, Columbia, Cuba, and Canada, with the purpose of establishing bilateral relationships and the potential collaboration between DPM and member states attending the symposium.

For more information regarding the General Directorate of Metrology please visit www.dpm.gov.al

GDPT Informs the Business About the Offered Services The General Directorate of Patents and Trademarks participated in the National Moving Fair 2014 in Vlora, June 6-8th and in Korca 20-22th of June.

The focus of the National Mobility Fair 2014 was on the business including, the opportunities to promote development, encouraging investment, target of the Albanian and foreign brands, the registering of trade and marks, increasing cooperation between foreign companies and the local ones and internationalizing local entities.

General Directorate of Patents and Trademarks, together with other agencies involved in this mission enabling transparency and information of all services offered to businesses.

For more information regarding the General Directorate of Patents and Marks please visit www.alpto.gov.al

On June 24-26, 2014 a multi country workshop on the enforcement of intellectual Property Rights was organized in Tirana International Hotel. This workshop organized by ACO in collaboration with Interpol. The workshop was financed by TAIEX program of European Union. The representatives from GDPT, GDC, State Police and other representatives from different institutions involved in protection of IP Rights participated in the seminar.

The objective of the workshop was to emphasise the importance of strengthening and protecting the Intellectual property rights in Albania and in countries of the Western Balkans.

The publication of the Albanian Standards Catalogue 2014 In June 2014, the General Directorate of Standartization published the Albanian Standards Catalogue 2014. The catalogue is one of the official documents published by GDS once a year. Albanian Standards Catalogue 2014 provides progressive information on the status of the standards until March 2014.

It is available online at the GDS webpage: www.dps.gov.al, as well as in paper format and CD at DPS offices. The interface of this free Catalogue is user freindly and users simply can fill out few information to reach their inteded standards.

On June 20, the Governing Board of General Directorate of Standartization analyzed the first 6 monthly work progress of GDS for 2014. The Board approved the amendments in DDS legislation; the standardization strategy; the standardization action plan – part of the national anticorruption strategy 2014 – 2017. Also, the Board discussed the responsibility of increasing cooperation between DPS with businesses and those ministries / institutions responsible mainly for the food industry.

For more information regarding the General Directorate of Standartization please visit www.dps.gov.al

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Directorate of Accreditation Celebrated the World Accreditation Day On 9 June 2014 the General Directorate of Accreditation (DA) celebrated the World Accreditation Day. On this occasion, GDA launched awareness campaign with respect to this year’s theme ‘Accreditation -Delivering Confidence in the Provision of Energy’, publishing and circulating various posters. Also the General Directorate of Accreditation has participated in several television program. GDA has selected many of national Television, like Top Channel,Vizion TV, Agon Channel, etc, in order to have high audience. The representatives from our institution participated in the morning program “Wake Up” Top Channel Television, and in the program “ 7 pa 5” in Vision Television. Also this activity was shown in different electronic media and daily newspaper.

This year the World Accreditation Day focused on the importance of accreditation in the energy sector, an instrument to ensure the efficiency and safety of systems and processes of energy distribution and supply. Against a growing global demand of energy, in fact, there is a pressing need to reduce emissions and to introduce measures to improve energy efficiency. In all countries institutions and public administrations are called upon to ensure that on the market are provided only safe products and services for consumers and the environment, the effectiveness and efficiency of energy performance. This can be achieved by requiring the accreditation of certification bodies, inspection and testing and calibration laboratories. The World Accreditation day 9th June is observed every year. International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) jointly work to celebrate world accreditation day to raise awareness of the importance of accreditation-related activities.

First world accreditation day was observed in June 9th 2008 by IAF and ILAC.

For more information regarding the General Directorate of Accreditation please visit www.dpa.gov.al

DA organize the Training for Application of the New ISO/IEC 17020:2012 Standard The General Directorate of Accreditation (GDA), on 23- 24 June 2014 and 30 June- 1 July 2014, organized the training course on introducting and applying the new ISO / IEC 17020:2012 standard in the inspection bodies and accreditation procedure. Lecturers on the training were employees from GDA, who are lead assessors in the accreditation procedures. About 45 from different private and public organizations related to inspection activities attended the training course.

The purpose of the training was to familiarize the participants with the new requirements as a novelty in the Standard, its practical application, correlation with the work procedures of GDA and exchange of experiences and opinions through a comparative analysis between the previous and the new standards. The main objective of the training was to raise the level of competence of the inspection bodies and all interested bodies through timely information and coordination of the practical application of the innovations in the practice in accordance with the requirements of the standard. GDA plans to conduct training courses on other topics such as ISO \ IEC 17065, ISO \ IEC17021 (certification bodies), Proficiency testing (PT), as well as for medical laboratories.

Detailed information about the calendar of training courses will be published in GDA official website www.dpa.gov.al.

Joint Market Surveillance Action in South East Europe The closing conference on Joint Market Surveillance Actions in South East Europe was held in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia, on 24th and 25th of June, 2014. The conference was part of 9 months long Joint Market Surveillance Actions, which focused on joint selection, sampling, testing and risk assessment of products by market surveillance inspections from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. These activities are part of the ongoing “Regional Market Surveillance Project” under the Open Regional Fund Foreign Trade Promotion, implemented by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The conference brought together more than 40 inspectors from the region in order to present and discuss the results of 3 joint market surveillance actions which were held in Podgorica, Skopje and Banja Luka. Each of the joint actions enabled the inspectors to discuss designing the check lists, sampling and risk assessment of dangerous products as well as planning of the market surveillance project itself.

Conference participants stressed the importance of information sharing and experience exchange and the need for regional cooperation in market surveillance to continue with the aim of supporting legal trade of safe product.

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Dynamics of Foreign Trade

On May 2014 exports reached 25 billion lekë, increasing by 8.7 % compared to May 2013 and with 11 % compared to April 2014. The main groups of good that experience an increase in exports are: “Construction materials and metals” by 58.7 %, “Textile and footwear” by 24 % and “Chemical and plastics products” by 19.6 %. For the same period of time the category of “Minerals, fuels and electricity” decreased by 12.6 %. On May 2014 the value of imports amounted to 48 billion lekë, increasing by 6.7 % compared to May 2013 and 8.7 % compared to April 2014. Imports increased mainly in the groups of: “Leather and leather manufactures” by 31.8 %, “Machinery, equipment and spare parts” by 15.7 % and “Construction materials and metals” by 14.8 %.In May 2014 the trade deficit reached 23 billion lekë marking an increase by 4.5 % compared to May 2013 and 6.2 % compared to April 2014. The EU countries have the greatest share in the foreign trade of Albania reaching 63.6% total trade. The main trade partners remain Italy (34.1 %), Greece (8.5 %), Turkey (8.1 %) and China (6.8 %).

Import by group of goods

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Export by group of goods

The Production Price Index

The Construction Cost Index

1. The annual change in the production price index

The annual change in the Production Price Index The prices of production for domestic market The prices of production with export destination

The first quarter (T1) of 2014 0.5% 0.5% 2.3%

In the first quarter of 2014, the Production Price Index is 0.5 %, compared to the same period of 2013. The prices of inputs for domestic production increased by 0.5 %, compared with the first quarter of 2013, while the prices of goods produced for export decreased by 2.3 %.

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1. The annual change in the Construction Cost Index

Expenditures on material inputs Hydro-sanitary materials Construction materials Salary expenditures Transport expenditures

First quarter (Q1) of year 2014 0.3% -2.4% 0.3% 3.6% 0.4%

In the first quarter of 2014, the annual change of Construction Cost Index (for Dwellings) is 0.2%. The previous year this change was 1.2%. Compared to the first quarter of 2013 the group “Material expenditures” decreased by 0.3%. The largest decrease within this group is seen in the “Hydro sanitary materials” subgroup by 2.4 % while the largest increase is observed in “Construction materials” subgroup by 0.3%. With reference to the first quarter of 2013 the index for the groups of “Salary expenditures” and “Transport expenditures” changed by 3.6% and 0.4%.

Import by country of origin

The quarterly change of the index The first quarter (T1) of year 2014 The quarterly change of the index 0.3% Mining and quarrying 1.2% Mining and quarrying of energy products 1.8% Processing industry 1.0% Food industry 1.5% Metallurgy and metal processing 4.0% Producer Price Index for Domestic Production 111.7% Export Price Index 118.2%

In the first quarter of 2014 the quarterly change of production price index is 0.3 %. The Production prices in “Mining and quarrying” increased by 1.2 %. It is worth noting the increase in production prices “Mining and quarrying of energy products” by 1.8 %. The production price index decreased by 1.0 % in “Manufacturing” section. The prices went down in manufacturing of “Food industry” by 1.5 % while in “Metallurgy and metal processing” decreased by 4%.The Production Price Index for Domestic Market reached 111.7 % experiencing an increase by 0.2 % compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. The Export Price Index is 118.2 % decreasing by 1.5 % compared to the previous quarter.

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Export by country of destination

The quarterly change in the Construction Cost Index

The quarterly change of the index Expenditures on material inputs Electric and communication materials Hydro - sanitary materials

The first quarter (Q1) of year 2014 -0.5% -0.9% -2.3% 0.3%

In the first quarter of year 2014, the quarterly change of the index is - 0.5 %.

The index in the group of “Material expenditures” decreased by 0.9 % compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Within this group, the largest decrease was in the “Electric and communication materials” subgroup by 2.3 %, and the largest increase can be seen in the “Hydro sanitary materials” subgroup by 0.3 %.

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The Consumer Price Index The annual change of the index (May 2014/May2013) Goods and different services 8% Alcoholic beverages and tobacco 6.6% Food, and non-alcoholic beverages 2.1% Hotels, coffee-houses and restaurants 2.7% Clothing and footwear -2.8% Communication -1.2% -5.3% Health

In May 2014 the annual rate of consumer price index is 1.6 %. A year before the change was 2.1. Compared to May 2013, the largest increase of prices is observed in the “Goods and different service” by 8.0 %, followed by “Alcoholic drinks and tobacco” group by 6.6 %, “Hotel, coffee house and restaurant” by 2.7 %, “Food and non-alcoholic beverage” group by 2.1 %, etc.

While the biggest decrease of prices is observed in the group “Health” by 5.3%, followed by the group “Clothing and footwear” by 2.8%, “Communication” group by 1.2 %, etc.

Quarterly Labour Force Survey According to the Labour Force Survey in the first quarter of year 2014 the number of people employed between15-64 years is 901,865 persons. The number of unemployed aged 15-64 years old is 201,770 persons. The unemployment rate for the population between 15-64 years is 18.3%. While for the young people of aged 15-29 years the unemployment rate is 31.3 %.

1. Employment

The employees by economic sector are as follows:

• The participation rate in the labour force is as follows: a. b. c. d.

for the population aged 15-64 years old is 58,6%. for the youth aged 15-29 years old is 37% for the population aged 30-64 years old is 70,5%. the labour force participation rate for females is 48,7% and for the males is 68,8%.

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing Mining and quarrying Construction Mining and quarrying, energy and water Market services Non-market services

43% 8.4% 6% 2.7% 22.2% 17.6%

• The employment rate for the population of working age (15-64 years) is 47,9 %, for young people aged 15-29 is 25.4 % while for the population of age 30-64 years old the employment rate is 60.2 % 2. Unemployment • During the first quarter of year 2014, the unemployment rate for the population of age 15-64 is 18.3 %. The number of unemployed aged 15-64 years old is 201,770 persons. For this group the unemployment rate is higher for men (19.6%) than for women (16.4%). While the long-term unemployment rate is 11.8 %. Compared to the fourth quarter of year 2013 it is observed an increase in unemployment for males and females aged 15-65 years old respectively with 0,8 and 1,9 percentage points.

• For the youth aged 15-29 the unemployment rate is 31.3%. Compared with the preceding quarter, the unemployment rate for young people rose by 3.2 percentage points.

• For the population aged 30- 64 years old, in the first quarter of 2014 the unemployment rate is 14.6% and long-term unemployment rate is 9.9%.

In May 2014 custom revenues increased by 40.52% compared to January 2014 and decreased by 11.25% from April. For this month the realization from the plan is 100.7%, exceeding the planned amount with about 93 million lekë. Progressive revenues were realized by 101% incurring an amount of 547 million lekë above the plan.

In May 2014 the monthly change of the index is – 1,1 % Monthly change of the index (May 14/April 14) Food, and non-alcoholic beverages -0.89 (% points) Vegetables -14.4% Fruits 4.4% Health - 0.05 (% points) Prices of medicines - 0.9% Hospital services - 5.6% Housing, water, electricity gas and other fuel” - 0.05 (% points) Fuels - 1%

The decrease in prices is mainly influenced by the group "Food and non-alcoholic beverages” with -0.89 percentage points. The prices of vegetables decreased by 14.4 % meanwhile prices of fruits increase by 4.4 %. The prices in the “Health” group contributed by - 0.05 percentage points in the monthly rate. In this group, the prices of hospital service decrease by 5.6 % and the prices of medicine decrease by 0.9 %. The prices in the “Housing, water, electricity gas and other fuel” group contributed by - 0.05 percentage points. The fuel prices decrease by 1.0 % compare to the previous month.

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Adress: Blvd. “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, Tiranë, Albania Tel. / Fax: +355 42 22 34 55 / +355 42 22 34 55 E-mail: info@ekonomia.gov.al Web: www.ekonomia.gov.al