Romanian exports to exceed $11bn in 2001

Romanian exports will exceed $11bn this year, after having crossed the $10bn threshold in 2000, says Cristian Colteanu, state secretary within Foreign Ministry’s Department for Foreign Trade and Economic Promotion.

“August is generally a slow month, but I think the growth pace of the exports will maintain for the rest of H2, so that the $11bn threshold could be crossed,” Colteanu said.

Romania’s exports (in FOB prices) amounted to $5.69bn in H1, 2001, up more than 15% as compared with the year-ago period, while the total exports in 2000 reached $10.4bn.

The exports growth pace was outstripped by that of imports, which amounted to $7.74bn in the first six months of this year, up nearly 30% since H1, 2000, so that the trade deficit doubled in H1, reaching $2bn.

Colteanu says it is possible to cut the trade deficit for the entire 2001, pointing out that exports in June have already outrun imports by 0.5%.

After all, exports in June exceeded the $1bn threshold for the second time since 1990. In Colteanu’s opinion, curbing the trade deficit could be sustained by reducing the pressure on the import of foodstuffs, due to the high cereal output this year, by exporting new products resulted from previous investments, by increasing consumption of locally made products and by harsher sanitary controls on the imported products.