Diplomatic strain with Romania cut Moldova’s customs revenues, study

{Par.1: corrects to “revenues from customs activity at the border checkpoints in the area of the Regional Division for Excises and Customs Operations (DRAOV) Iasi, Romania”} Adding to the effects of the economic crisis, the strained diplomatic relations with Romania have led to a dramatic cut in Moldova’s revenues from customs activity at the border checkpoints in the area of the Regional Division for Excises and Customs Operations (DRAOV) Iasi, Romania. The amount of customs duties in the first four months of this year dropped by 73 percent on the similar period last year, from 1.6 million lei to 0.44 million lei, and the customs activity at the border was the worst affected, found IDIS Viitorul think-tank in its quarterly economic report, Info-Prim Neo reports. Launched on Thursday, the IDIS' Economic Monitor for Q2-09 revealed that the instability in Moldova affected greatly the bilateral trade relations and the imposition of visas on Romania had a negative impact. The sharpest decline in trade exchanges was registered at the Iasi border checkpoint, where customs receipts reduced by nearly 80 percent in the first quarter, while the amount of cargo transited dropped by 160 million metric tons. In January-April, the distribution of Moldova's exports to the European Union by country of destination was as follows: Romania – 20 percent, Italy – 10.2 percent, Germany – 6.1 percent, the UK – 4 percent, Poland – 3.2 percent, Switzerland – 2.7 percent, and France – 2.5 percent. The CIS countries accounted for 35.2 percent of Moldova's exports, down by 3.6 percent on the similar period last year. Exports to Russia were valued at $ 71.6 million, to Belarus at $27.4 million, and to Ukraine at $19.4 million.