FOREIGN TRADE
By courtesy of the National Institute of Statistics
Foreign Trade sector in 2005 was better, if
compared it with four years earlier.
During 2001-2005 the rate of imports slowly
decreased (from 18.7% in 2001 faced to 2000 to 17.8% in 2004 compared to 2003).
This is the result of the high dependency
of the Romanian economy on the energy and raw material imports. In the same time the rate
of exports increased (from 12.1% in 2001 faced to 2000 to 14.1% in 2004 compared to 2003).
Exports, imports and balance of foreign trade operations
1) Operations carried out by
foreign trade intermediates (brokers) with private capital and by private producers
directly carrying out foreign trade activities. |
from values expressed in euro
(%)
Exports (FOB) by means of transport
(euro million)
Imports (CIF)
by means of transport
(euro million)
Exports and
imports by main sections,
according to the Combined Nomenclature (CN)
- EURO million -
1) Provisional data.
In 2005 the imports (CIF) accounted for euro 32,568.5 million (euro
30,061.4 million in prices FOB), by 23.9% more than in 2004; they grew due both to larger
volumes and to higher oil prices in the international markets.
The import share in GDP was
43.4% lower with 1.6 percent points than in previous year (45.0% in 2005). In 2006, first
quarter the share of imports in GDP was 52.8%.
The factors underlying the
pickup in imports can be attributed to domestic economic developments, the customs policy
pursued by the central authorities and the international environment.
The bounce in the economy
entailed additional imports of raw materials, machinery, equipment and transport means, as
well as energy products.
The removal of customs
duties on imports of industrial goods from European Union Member States was another
driving force behind the upturn in imports.
In comparison with 2004,
value of imports coming from the European Union countries (EU-25) increased by 18.7%,
registering a weight of 62.2% in total imports. The EU is the major supplier of imports of
machinery and equipment, and also of textile materials for outward processing.
Russia, which accounted for
8.3% of Romanian imports, remained the major source of imports of energy in 2005.
The first ten partner
countries for imports in 2005 (representing 66.7% of total imports) were the following:
Italy (15.5% of total imports), Germany (14.0%), Russian Federation (8.3%), France (6.7%),
Turkey (4.9%), China (4.1%), Austria (3.7%), Hungary (3.3%), Kazakhstan (3.3%) and Poland
(2.9%).
In 2005 the exports (FOB)
worth EURO 22,255 million, by 17.5% more than in 2004. In 2005 compared with 2001 the
total exports increased by 74.9%. They grew due both to domestic productivity improving
and to real depreciation of the ROL versus EUR.
The export effort -
estimated as a ratio between exports and output (GDP), moved ahead - from 36.0% in 2003 to
37.1% in 2004. In 2005 this indicator decreased by 4.1 percent points (33.0% in 2006)
compared with previous year. In 2006, first quarter the share of exports in GDP was 43.0%.
The drivers of exports were
the authorities aimed at trade development and the strong demand for Romanian merchandise
from the EU major partners.
In the Romanian exports
were prevalent the light industry goods, mineral products, apparatus, equipment and
transport means.
In comparison with 2004,
value of exports to the European Union countries (EU-25) increased by 9.0%, registering a
weight of 67.6% in total exports. In 2005, the top ten trading partners for exports
(amounting to 70.8% of total exports) were: Italy (19.2% of total exports), Germany
(14.0%), Turkey (7.9%), France (7.4%), United Kingdom (5.5%), Hungary (4.2%), USA (4.1%),
Austria (3.1%), Netherlands (2.7%) and Bulgaria (2.7%).
Commercial deficit FOB/CIF
was euro 10313.4 million in 2005 and in December 2005 registered euro 1,288.1 million. In
prices FOB/FOB, the deficit was euro 7,806.3 million in 2005.
Ministry of Economy and Commerce - Policy direction for Export sector
- Traditional
manufacturing sectors, such as garments industry within the textile industry and furniture
within the wood processing industry, continue to be important for socio-economic reasons.
Emphasis is on achieving higher value addition through focused upstream and downstream
integration
- For other
parts of manufacturing industries like metal components and automotive industry
components, electro-technical products, tires and rubber articles, plastics,
pharmaceuticals and fertilizers within chemical sector - which tend to be fragmented or
for which demand is declining, the focus is on identifying niches (products and markets)
for industrial outsourcing that consistently contribute to higher value addition and
higher efficiency
- Rural and
ecological tourism or balneal medical services have an attractive offer There are
opportunities by clustering Romanian products, such as wine, organic farming, handcrafts
(including glassware and ceramics), and culture
- Romania has
also to diversify and widen its export offer. The strategic thrust is to focus on service
sectors such as IT&C, consulting-engineering, financial services, quality management,
R&D, environment, events and transportation. Not only will these sectors be direct
contributors to foreign exchange earnings, but they will further support, and enable
unrelated products sectors to become more internationally competitive.
The
Government's program for the next 4 years aims at increasing national competitiveness,
regional development, supporting SMEs and innovative companies. Related to foreign trade
it specifies the following:
- compliance
and better use of free trade international agreements and more credibility and confidence
in the Romanian business environment;
- increasing
the share Romanian industrial product exports have in world trade, by identifying niche
markets for these, especially for those having higher added value;
- giving
priority to strengthening the trade and economic relations with the EU countries;
- developing
trade relations and economic cooperation with non-EU member European countries;
- restarting
bilateral trade relations with America, Asia and Africa;
- better
specialized services for trade development.
In Romania
there is a legal framework dedicated specifically to export stimulation and promotion.
According to
the law, the following programs are in force:
1. Financial
and banking instruments managed by EXIMBANK:
2. Export
promotion program managed by the Ministry of Economy and Trade/Foreign Trade Department,
through which the following types of expenses are partially or totally supported from the
state budget:
- participation
to international trade fairs and exhibitions;
- setting up
economic missions abroad;
- registration
fees and running costs (for at least one year) of Romanian commercial representations
abroad;
- publishing
and distributing abroad Romanian export offer info bulletins;
- publicity and
advertising materials
3. The
Competitiveness Program for industrial products, managed by the Ministry of Economy and
Trade.
4. The
Competitiveness Program for agricultural and food products, managed by the Ministry of
Agriculture.
5. Export
bonuses for agricultural and food products selected in accordance with the Agreement for
agriculture - Part III, Section II - Subsidies for export, in the framework of the World
Trade Organization, with a priority and on a larger proportion for certified biological
agricultural and food products of vegetable and animal origin.
6. The Program
for the support of small and medium sized enterprises, for the development of export,
managed by the National Agency for Small and Medium sized Enterprises and Cooperation, for
stimulating private operators to set up and develop small and medium-sized enterprises.
In conclusion,
Romania has a national system of instruments and mechanisms for export promotion and
support, which included gradually new types of measures and instruments, in accordance
with best world practices.
Trade facilitation
Trade
facilitation covers all steps that can be taken in view of smoothing the flow of trade.
The term is widely used to cover all sorts of non-tariff barriers. In the concept of the
WTO, trade facilitation is limited to "the simplification and harmonization of
international trade procedures", covering the "activities, practices and
formalities involved in collecting, presenting, communicating and processing data required
for the movement of goods in international trade".
Trade
facilitation relates to a wide range of activities at the border (import and export
procedures, transport formalities, payments, insurance and other financial requirements).
The main goal
of trade facilitation is to reduce the transaction costs and complexity of international
trade for businesses and improve the trading environment in a country, while maintaining
efficient and effective levels of government control.
The main area
of focus includes: Infrastructure investment, customs and border crossing - environment
modernization, streamlining documentary requirements and information flows, automation and
EDI, port efficiency, logistics and transport services: regulation and competitiveness,
transit and multimode transport, transport security.
Under the
purpose of this strategy, the vision is to define trade facilitation as one of the
essential elements of Romania's trade competitiveness. The main strategic objectives are:
- to improve
legislation on trade facilitation
- to enhance
the competency of enterprises in matters related to trade and transport facilitation
- to raise the
efficiency of commercial transactions
- to identify
the requirements and particular exigencies of different foreign markets
- to contribute
in the simplification of cross border procedures
- to increase
the security of Constanta Port in order to facilitate containerized trade
- to decrease
the average border crossing time for goods and persons in SE Europe
- to modernize
Romanian infrastructure
- to improve
customs logistics
For more information: http://www.minind.ro; http://www.mincom.ro
-
the official web sites of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce
Export and Import earnings of
private businesses
Major exported and imported
product groups
Export and Import partners