Research On China's Chemical Exports To Albania: Customs Data

Albania is a small market located in the south-western Balkan Peninsula with a population of less than three million. Its chemical import volume is relatively low among regional economies. Its local industrial sectors are fairly concentrated, dominated by building materials, food and beverage processing, textile and garment OEM production, and minor metal-processing activities. Recent highway, power-station and urban-renovation projects have driven up demand for construction-related chemicals. Domestic chemical production mainly covers cement, fertilizer blending and small-scale daily-chemical formulation; nearly all upstream raw materials rely on imports. China's chemical exports to Albania are modest in volume and concentrated in a limited range of products. The research presents relevant data in the table below.

Note: Export volume is measured in kilograms; export value refers to total export amount in RMB yuan. Unit price is calculated as export value divided by export volume. Products are ranked in descending order of export volume.

The table reveals market scale and export destinations. Nevertheless, several points require careful consideration to avoid misinterpretation.

Customs tariff headings often cover more than one single product. For sodium carbonate (28362000, soda ash), hydrogen peroxide (28470000), isopropanol (29051200), bentonite (25081000) and calcium chloride (28272000), tariff codes correspond almost exactly to individual commodities, yielding well-targeted statistics. By contrast, glycine (29224919, amino acids not elsewhere specified) and titanium dioxide (32061900, other pigments and preparations based on titanium dioxide) fall under residual "other / not elsewhere specified" tariff sub-headings. Their statistical scope includes all goods under the respective HS codes; estimating the output of a single product from these figures will produce overstated results. Special attention should be paid to titanium dioxide: HS 32061900 covers formulated preparations, while pure titanium-dioxide pigment with TiO2 content above 80% is classified under HS 320611, and the two codes do not overlap.

Potassium nitrate appears under two separate tariff lines in this table: fertilizer-grade under 28342110 and non-fertilizer-grade under 28342190. They differ in end-use and regulatory requirements and should be analysed separately instead of simply aggregated.

Reported unit prices represent blended averages. A single tariff heading may include industrial-grade, food-grade and pharmaceutical-grade materials of varying purity and packaging formats. Blended averages reflect overall market levels and cannot be directly adopted as the price for one specific grade. The weighted average unit price across all listed products stands at approximately 4.06 RMB per kilogram. This low overall average is driven largely by calcium chloride, which accounts for 53% of total export volume yet has a unit price below 1 RMB/kg.

Apart from calcium chloride, sodium carbonate (~1.1 RMB/kg), bentonite (~2.0 RMB/kg) and hydrogen peroxide (~2.6 RMB/kg) belong to the low-price tier. The two potassium-nitrate tariff lines show unit prices between 5.7 - 7.7 RMB/kg. Maltodextrin, titanium dioxide and isopropanol range from 6.7 - 9.2 RMB/kg. Polyethylene and polyacrylamide fall between 10.6 - 11.3 RMB/kg. Glycine, with only 200 kg exported, gives a calculated unit price of roughly 29 RMB/kg. For such small-batch shipments, packaging and transport costs make up a large share of total cost, so this figure should not be treated as a regular market price.

Product scope is narrow with heavy concentration in top items. Only twelve product varieties are listed. Polyethylene accounts for 45% of total export value; calcium chloride for 12%, and non-fertilizer-grade potassium nitrate for 14%. Together these three make up around 71% of total value. Adding fertilizer-grade potassium nitrate brings the combined share of potassium-nitrate tariff lines to about 19% of total export value. In volume terms, calcium chloride represents more than half of total shipments, while polyethylene accounts for less than 20%. Volume and value structures are therefore inverted. In such a small-sized market, individual large-volume orders can substantially alter annual statistics. When analysing data, one should take into account product-specific applications and seasonal factors rather than relying solely on aggregate totals.

1. HS code selection is critical. Chinese customs adopt 8-digit HS codes. Using 6-digit codes will incorporate statistics for unrelated commodities.
2. Tariff revisions may change assigned HS codes for identical products across different years. This factor should be considered for long-term comparative analysis.

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