The Republic of Moldova is much less dependent on Russia in terms of exports than 10-15 years ago, said Minister of Economy Sergiu Gaibu. According to him, Moldova is not significantly affected by the halt in exports to Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Minister of Finance Dumitru Budianschi is less optimistic. He said the war on Moldova’s boarder seriously affects the state budget and the authorities already anticipate that the sums coming from the diaspora and the revenues collected by the Customs Service will decline, IPN reports.
Sergiu Gaibu said the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement with the EU diminished Moldova’s dependence on the Eastern market. Moldova’s exports primarily go to the EU member states.
”Our exports to these three countries, Ukraine, Riussia and Belarus, represented 15% of the total exports. We are in a much better situation than in 1998, when a major crisis was experienced and when 60% of the exports went to Russia. The level of dependence on Russia is now much lower. Romania is currently the largest export partner with 25% of the exports. The exports to Belarus represented 3%, to Ukraine – 3%, to Russia – 9%. India can be an alternative market and discussions on the issue are now being held. This market is convenient, but it will be more difficult to ensure the process from the viewpoint of logistics,” Sergiu Gaibu stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.
For his part, Minister of Finance Dumitru Budianschi said the war in Ukraine made the authorities to consider amending the state budget. The military conflict on the border has a serious impact on Moldova’s revenues and leads to higher costs.
“We had been already hit by two crises – the energy one and the global inflation crisis. The war in Ukraine fuelled the two challenges. First of all, the commercial relations with a number of Eastern partners were interrupted. I do not refer only to Ukraine and Russia, but also to Belarus. We will also be affected by the lower remittances and by the fear in society that, for its part, affected the banking system. This war in our neighborhood generated the refugee crisis. The state needs to handle this crisis too. For a country like the Republic of Moldova, the number of refugees is very high. For example, the customs revenues came from these regions,” said Dumitru Budianschi.
According to official data, Moldova imported about 2% of products from Belarus, approximately 9.3% from Ukraine and 14%, mostly energy resources, from the Russian Federation. Representatives of the Government assured that there are alternatives to the imports from these countries.
