Imports outpace exports again

Trade deficit surged almost 600 million euros in August, exceeding 4 billion euros after the first eight months of the year, up 34.5% from the year-ago period. The comparison between August 2004-August 2003 is even more discouraging, pointing to double deficit. This is the result of August’s drop in exports. Thus, the growth of imports was double the increase registered at the level of sales of commodities abroad. In line with data released by the National Institute of Statistics, Romania spent 31.6% more on imports in August 2004 as compared to the same month last year, while the value of exports rose by a mere 15.2%. Revenues from exports were worth 1.4 billion euros, while imports exceeded two billion euros. In the January-August interval, imports totalled 16.3 billion euros, 23.3% higher than the value reported in the similar period of 2003, while exports brought Romania 12.2 billion euros, an increase of only 20%. ZF