TIRANA, Nov 18 /ATA/ – Albania’s exports rose 1% year-on-year in October to 31 billion lek, the National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said on Monday.

INSTAT data show exports were up 14.5% from September.

The statistics office said construction materials and metals, along with machinery and equipment, drove the increase, while declines in minerals, fuels, electricity, textiles and footwear.

Imports rose 3.6% on the year to 80 billion lek, widening the trade deficit by 5.4% to 49 billion lek.

Exports grew mainly to Greece (10%), the United States (fivefold) and Spain (28.9%).

Imports increased from Italy (6.1%), China (31.2%) and Greece (4.2%), but fell from Turkey (20.3%), Germany (2.4%) and the United States (33.4%).

/a.g/u.sh/