The trade sector has shrunk in the last decade, both in terms of the number of businesses and its share in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to INSTAT, businesses active in the trade sector in 2020 were a total of 43,668, the lowest level of the decade since 2011. Also the share of the sector in GDP fell by 1 percentage point over the last 10 years, going from 16.6% to 2011 at 15.5% in 2020.
The trade sector is shrinking for two main reasons, which come from structural changes in the sector and population decline from high emigration.
In recent years, the opening of shopping malls has influenced the concentration of clothing retail and the expansion of supermarket chains has focused the retail of food from small shops to larger units.
According to INSTAT data, from 2011-2020 400-600 thousand people left the country. The contraction of the population, especially in the regions, has reduced the consumption and consequently the number of businesses that deal with trade.
In 2020 alone, 1.5% of businesses in the trade sector or 656 were closed nationwide. This is due to the negative effects of the pandemic, where trade was among the hardest hit in some specific market segments, especially clothing.
The biggest bankruptcies in trade businesses were seen in some small municipalities such as Fushë-Arrësi, Skrapari, Pusteci, Belsh, Klos, Has, where the percentage closures were in double digits.
On the other hand some municipalities saw an increase in businesses in the trade sector. In Konispol last year the number of businesses marked an annual increase of 7.3%, in Cërrik 5.7%, in Dibër 4.3%, the Oil Bridge 4.3%, Librazhd 3.6%.
Last year, businesses in the construction and agriculture sectors expanded the most. Both of these sectors were not affected by the pandemic and have seen higher activity flows than in the normal year.
According to the Bank of Albania surveys within the Confidence Index in 2020, it turned out that businesses in the services and construction sector were more optimistic in terms of employment. In contrast, businesses in the trade sector were more pessimistic./Monitor
