Shoe manufacturers are among the industries mostly hit by the crisis. INSTAT data show that shoe exports reached 28 billion ALL for the January-March period of 2021.
Although it is higher than one year ago, when the industry was facing damage by the earthquake and the COVID-19 isolation, it remains 11.2% lower than in 2019.
Florjak Zekja, exporter and representative of this industry, declared that businesses have chosen various ways to face the crisis.
“A full recovery of the sector seems far away, especially with our partners still suffering from the restrictive measures”, Zekja declared.
The representatives of this industry see the local and foreign markets as the only way to overcome the crisis created by COVID-19.