Romania maintains the trade deficit for agri-food goods after Q3

Romania maintains the trade deficit for agri-food goods after the first three quarters of this year, with exports increasing only by 2.7 percent compared with the same period of 2015, up to EUR 4.32 billion, while the imports amounted to EUR 4.57, an increase by 9.3 percent, according to the data of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry.

In the first nine months of this year, the trade deficit with agricultural products was EUR 254 million, while in the same period of the last year Romania registered a surplus of around EUR 22.83 million.

According to the data of the Ministry, during the mentioned period over 5.9 million tonnes of agricultural products were imported, while the exports were two times higher after nine months, to over 12 million tonnes.

The statistics of the Agriculture Ministry show that the imports top in the EU countries and the third parties is dominated fresh and refrigerated pork, by EUR 241 million (141.640 tonnes), pastry, bakery and biscuits, with EUR 177 million (89.209 tonnes), wheat and meslin worth EUR 171 million, sugar cane or sugar beet worth EUR 144.2 million (574,528 tonnes) and coffee worth EUR 140.3 million.

From the exports Romania has the highest gains from cereals delivery in inter and extra community area, on the first place being the wheat and meslin worth EUR 862.86 million for 5.2 million tonnes. Cigarettes and cigars are on the second place worth EUR 577.46 million, followed by rapeseeds worth EUR 482.88 million, and corn worth EUR 400.11 million.

EU is the main partner in the Romanian agri-food trade considering that in the first nine months of the year agri-food products in Romania valued at EUR 2.564 billion and 4.5 tonnes of products were delivered and from the EU community market Romania got 4.69 million tonnes of agri-food products worth EUR 3.76 billion.

Georgiana Bendre