The sector is attractive due to various competitive advantages deriving from:

• Geographic position of Albania (just-in-time production and overnight transportation from Albania to Italy, even closer to Greece, while accessible from many European countries through road transportation) makes possible small scale production of small orders’ deliveries of “pronto moda” and/or “assortimenti”.
  

  

• Infrasctructure in Albania with four ports, where Durres port is the biggest one in Albania (note that Tirana-Durres is the biggest footwear production concentration in Albania), as well as new highways linking the main cities of the country, hence representing an infrastructure suitable to business needs.
• Assymetric Agreement with EU which allows for Outward Processing Regime of re-exported garments and footwear, while with Balcan countries Albania has signed Free Trade Agreements that reduce and ultimately elimate customs duties when exporting and/or importing raw materials and/or intermediate, final products. It is because of this trade regime with EU and other competitiveness advantages that, according to ITC Trade Data, Albania ranks 6th largest exporting country of shoe uppers worldwide.
• Qualified and low-cost labor deriving not only from high unemployment, but also by a young population in Albania (the suburban parts of the cities where footwear companies are located are newly populated from rural families coming from remote areas of the country and looking for jobs and urban integration). For details on labor costs see below the table. With over 20,000 shoe & leather workers and over 12,000 engineering vocational and tertiary students Albania offers an excellent supply of workers for shoe and leather operations. The number of students in Albania is growing rapidly, ensuring a continuous supply of technical workers. Labour force is highly rated by investors for its commitment to quality and flexibility. In leading shoe manufacturers in Albania, 50% of employees have been at the factory for over 5 years, demonstrating the stability of the workforce.
• Massive knowledge of Italian language by Albanian population which makes easy understanding and know-how transferring.
• Serious and professional Albanian partners who are looking for foreign partners who wish to extend their operations in Albania; this is accompanied also with a long list of state-owned facilities in industrial areas (such as in Shkodra) that can be easily transformed into production units. Industrial sites available from around $35 per square metre – below the cost of industrial sites in Eastern Europe or other Balkan countries. Electricity and water costs are also at or below that of other countries.
• Regional and domestic market which is satisified mostly by imported products and has a growing demand for quality and competitive products.
• Overall positive growth of the Albanian economy (6% annual growth), good ranking of imports/GDP (see graph 1) and FDI/GDP (see graph 2) as compared to other regional countries.

For more on competitiveness of this sector, see also:

• Analysis of Albanian competitiveness on the textile/garment and leather/shoes industries from an international perspective
• Albanian Leather/Footwear Broshure