Moldova’s exports to Romania passed the record level of €1 billion, said Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea. He noted that the authorities of the two states are looking for new methods for the Moldovan producers to be able to sell their products on the Romanian market. At the same time, exports to the CIS declined by 30% and will decrease further if the war in Ukraine continues, IPN reports.
According to official statistics provided by the National Bureau of Statistics, Romania accounts for 28.6% of Moldova’s exports. The minister said that Romania remains the main commercial partner of the country, especially after the war broke out in Ukraine and exports to the Commonwealth of Independent States dropped.
“Exports to Romania exceeded €1 billion. In 2021, we exported products to the value of over €800 million to Romania. Now the figure passed €1 billion. Exports to the CIS total US$240 million and export figures here decrease annually by 25-30%. Exports to the Eastern markets decline primarily due to the very difficult and very expensive logistics. Poland blocked the border with Belarus and does not allow carriers from everywhere to pass. This led to larger expenses in the process of reaching the CIS and economic activity there became almost impossible and fully unprofitable,” Vladimir Bolea stated in the program “Shadow Cabinet” on JurnalTV channel.
The minister said the war destroyed many farming areas in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova started to export vegetables to the neighboring country even if before the war Moldova was the one that bought vegetables from Ukraine. The Romanian market is essential for Moldova and the authorities aim to extend exports to this market by promoting the Moldovan products.
“Now the whole economy is oriented to Romania. We are having discussions with the Investment Agency, the Chambers of Commerce of the Republic of Moldova and Romania for mounting exhibitions “Made in Moldova”. There are a number of free exhibitions for small producers of the Republic of Moldova and we have many products of a special quality. We are trying to promote our products more as the consumption and purchase potential of the Romanian market is very big,” explained Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea.
To promote the Moldovan products in Romania, the producers are invited to take part in the exhibition “The Republic of Moldova Presents” that will be staged in Cluj-Napoca in May and in Brasov in June. Applications for participation can be submitted until April 30, 2023.
