The breakaway republic of Transdniestria in the first nine months of this year exported its products to 24 counties of the European Union, mainly to Italy, Germany, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Sweden, the Netherlands and France, the Moldovan Ministry of Reintegration says. Exports from Transnistria to the EU member states over January-September 2007 totaled about 2.15 bln lei, or by 17.1% more compared with the corresponding period last year. The EU countries absorbed 36.9% of the total Transnistrian exports. The iron-and-steel products and the products of the light industry make up 93.3% of the total exports to these countries. The number of Transnistrian companies exporting to the EU member states rose from 9 in 2005 to 25 in 2007 (of the 80 exporting economic entities in September 2007). As Moldova befits from the EU trade preferences GSP plus, about 87.7% of the products exported from the Transnistrian region in nine months of 2007 entered the European Union duty free or after paying a reduced tax. The Transnistrian economic operators made a profit of about 102 mln lei.