Moldova saw modest rise in exports to EU

In the first nine month of 2010, Moldova's exports to EU countries rose by $10 million on the similar period last year, the National Statistics Bureau reported. Exports to the EU amounted to $487 million, almost a half of the total. Romania and Italy were the biggest recipients. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, analyst Alexandru Oprunenco of Expert Grup called the rise “modest”, explaining it on the very slow economic recovery of the European countries following the global financial crisis. Oprunenco estimated that in 2011 Moldova's exports would rise, at least until the levels of the years 2007-2008. But this will greatly depend on the economic situation of the partner countries, including on the duration of the austerity measures imposed by some EU governments. At the same time, exports are expected to increase to Romania, which were previously affected by poor sugar beet yields. The CIS countries' share in Moldovan exports was 39% and Russia received the bulk of them. However exports to Russia diminished by 35% following the so-called wine embargo, and Alexandru Oprunenco remarked that the economic relations with Russia are still greatly dependent on political factors. At the same time, in 9 months of 2010, imports from the EU countries rose to $1.3 billion from $1.19 billion the similar period last year. The share of EU imports stood at 53%.