Kosovo continues to have a negative trade balance, although there is a slight increase in the value of exported goods. At the same time, imports have also increased in 2024, compared to 2023.

During the past year, Kosovo has exported goods worth 889 million euros, while it has imported goods worth 6 billion and 38 million euros.

In the past year, one of the most exported products was electricity worth approximately 150 million euros, followed by doors and windows worth over 98 million euros. While iron bars rank third with a value of 93 million euros.
According to official data from Kosovo Customs, the fourth place among the most exported products from Kosovo is occupied by furniture, beds and mattresses worth over 92 million euros.
A decrease in the value of exports, compared to 2023, is observed in plastic products and furniture and mattresses.

Although during 2023, the first place for export was held by these items (mattresses) worth over 146 million euros.
Meanwhile, during 2024, Kosovo imported the most oil and lubricant oils, where their value reached over 710 million and 300 thousand euros.
After that, with approximately 678 million euros, Kosovo purchased vehicles and other means of transport.
Meanwhile, the third place in imports are machinery, work tools, auto parts and other similar goods worth 464 million euros.

According to data from Kosovo Customs sent to KosovaPress, in 2024 Kosovo imported more vehicles worth over 90 million euros compared to 2023.

Regarding these trade data, the executive director of the GAP Institute, Blend Hasaj, in a statement to KosovaPress, says that in the last 25 years, governments have not paid due attention to the development of production capacities in Kosovo. As a result of large imports, Hasaj says that there is a sharp increase in prices, affecting the overall economy of the country.

"A problem in Kosovo has been precisely that over the years, these last 25 years, we have not given due attention to the development of production capacities within the country. This is precisely why we saw that with the rapid increase in prices, the impact on our economy was direct. Although we are a small economy and it is expected that we will be the recipient of prices. Fluctuations in international markets affect our country, we did not have any obstacle to, say, to reduce the impact of price increases a little, since we do not have domestic production", says Hasaj.

Blendi Hasaj adds that attention must be paid to the mechanisms by which local products are supported, for which he mentions that everything must be transparent.

"We import most things, or the largest part, from other countries, and the lack of production capacities in the country has damaged our economy. Because we have not allowed the money that is earned here to be spent within the country and circulate within the country... We must be very careful in the form or mechanism that we choose to support domestic products and this should be done through mechanisms that are extremely transparent, so that the government does not have discretion or there are forms that are non-transparent for supporting domestic production", says Hasaj.

Meanwhile, the executive director of the Development Group LLC, Shenoll Muharremi, said that the latest official export data suggests that Kosovo sold 578,477 MWh of electricity abroad in December 2024.

“This is an extraordinary capacity that I don’t believe has ever happened before. Does this have anything to do with the power outages that Kosovo’s citizens and businesses experienced? I don’t know,” Muharremi wrote.

He also wrote that exports are being tracked, it is understood that Kosovo exported 94 million euros of electricity during December 2024, mainly to Albania (mostly), but also to Slovenia and North Macedonia.

“This volume and such a high value of energy sold occurred during December, when Kosovo, families and businesses, were faced with an internal energy crisis, where some businesses were closed because they could not operate,” says Muharremi.

Customs officials told KosovaPress that from January to December 17, 2024, Kosovo exported goods worth 889 million euros and 302 thousand euros, while imports were 6 billion and 38 million euros.

In 2023, the value of exports was 819 million euros, while imports were also 5 billion 878 million euros.

In 2022, exports were 920 million euros, imports 5 billion and 639 million euros, in 2021 there were 755 million exports, while imports were 4 billion and 684 million euros.
In 2020, the value of exports was 474 million euros, imports 3 billion and 296 million.