Investments in Wineries: Beverage and Alcohol Exports Up 33.5% in Eight Months

Exports of beverages, alcohol and vinegars are posting strong growth this year.

According to foreign trade data, in the January–August 2026 period, exports of this group reached 3.02 billion lek, up more than 33% from the same period a year earlier.

In the 8 months of 2026, beverage exports accounted for 9% of total food exports.

The growth comes at a time when the beverage industry, particularly wine, has gradually increased production capacity and efforts to enter new markets.

Wine producers interviewed earlier by Monitor said that in 2025 grape production was high in both quantity and quality, favored by climate conditions and the expansion of areas planted with vineyards.

Higher production has created more opportunities to direct part of the quantities toward exports, at a time when the domestic market continues to face strong competition from imported drinks.

Albanian wineries have also reported efforts to expand sales in European and wider markets. In previous cases, domestic producers have linked export growth precisely to expanding presence in foreign markets.

Another factor supporting the orientation toward foreign markets is the increased promotion of Albanian products.

In 2025, Albanian producers took part with 20 premium labels at the international “Wine Paris” fair, in an effort to expand presence in foreign markets.

The 2026 growth is also significant in relation to historical performance.

Exports of beverages, alcohol and vinegars were only 555 million lek in 2015, while they peaked at 3.83 billion lek in 2024 — nearly seven times more.

In 2025, the trend was interrupted and exports fell to 3.55 billion lek, down about 7.4% from 2024, due to weaknesses in production.

But in just the first eight months of 2026, exports have reached 3.02 billion lek, or about 85% of the value realized during all of 2025.

The recovery of this category stands out even at a time when Albanian exports as a whole are going through difficult days.

INSTAT data show that in August, exports grew by only 1.6%, influenced by the poor performance of textiles and footwear and weaker growth in construction materials, metals and minerals and fuels and energy, which had a strong effect in July. / B.Hoxha