Denada Jushi
The first arrivals of foreign contracts for global brands in Albania, around 2017 and up to 2022, when the boom peaked, meant that tailoring began to be seen as an employment opportunity for tens of thousands of women, mainly in rural areas or cities where getting a job is not easy at all!
Factories near Vora, the surroundings of Kurbin, Lezha and later Shkodra, Tirana, Vlora, brought about positive economic development.
Data from the 2022 Balance of Payments of the Bank of Albania showed that income from the tailoring sector, but also income from seasonal or cross-border workers abroad, was recording the highest historical levels.
But today, as ACQJ visited one of the Shkodra tailoring factories, the owners say that this business is heading towards bankruptcy. In fact, some factories in this city are closing their doors in Albania to transfer them to countries like Azerbaijan or African countries, where fiscal favors are being applied to entrepreneurs.
"The fall of the euro, but also the lack of contracts, because costs are cheaper in other countries, have made us go through very difficult times. Currently we only have one contract, while we used to have dozens. This forces us to reduce staff and payments," the owner of the tailoring shop tells us.
This crisis is also acknowledged by Minister Delina Ibrahimaj, who says that there will be a new law within 2026 for 'Made in Albania' products!
"Another component is the law that we will adopt within 2026 for 'Made in Albania', which aims to promote domestic products at home and abroad, build and protect the 'Made in Albania' brand, and encourage exports of Albanian products," says Ibrahimaj.
But, for the DP MP, Jorida Tabaku, this sector has a complex of problems.
"The fashion crisis is neither sudden nor isolated, but is the result of three combined factors that have significantly increased costs and reduced competitiveness:
- Increase the minimum wage and social security.
The increase in the minimum wage has brought an immediate increase in insurance paid by employers and employees, adding about 30% to the cost burden for the sector.
"This has increased the cost burden by 30%, which will come out of the pockets of employees and employers," Tabaku emphasized.
- Input taxation at 8–15%.
The DP MP says that Albania is the only country in the region that applies this level of taxation to production inputs, making Albanian products more expensive and less competitive in international markets.
"In total, taxes increase the cost of products by an additional 30%," she said.
- Devaluation of the euro.
The fall of the euro has had "catastrophic consequences" for exporters, as revenues are realized in euros, while costs are paid in lek.
Meanwhile, the ladies of the tailoring shop say that, even though it is a difficult job, not paid for the effort, this work at least helps them contribute to their families and that the reduction in staff scares them, because they may find themselves without work in the future.
The government, meanwhile, sees the digitalization of the sector as a solution to the impasse, but there is no clarity on how to deal with the workforce.
"We have discussed the need for reform of this sector, the need for increasing machinery capacities, the need for automation of this sector, but above all the need for this sector to produce products with a closed cycle and we have been ready to support the sector in various forms," the minister said.
The year 2025 ended with a negative balance in trade in goods. Exports last year amounted to 3.4 billion euros, a decrease of 6.1% compared to the previous year, when they were worth 3.6 billion euros.
The tailoring sector is in collapse and, above all, without a concrete plan on how to act to stop the decline of this sector./acqj.al
