In the first quarter of this year,the Dacia SUV, the most expensive model ever produced in theMioveni plant, has come to account for half of the output of thelocal manufacturer, according to statistics of the Romanianassociation of Automotive Manufacturers and Importers (APIA).
Dacia's overall exports in thefirst quarter amounted to around EUR1 billion, i.e. around 10% ofRomania's total exports. With exports set to account for around30-35% of the Gross Domestic Product, around 1 to 1.5% of GDP willbe accounted for by the Duster SUV.
The Romanian economy is currentlyover-reliant on just a few sectors, with its growth being tightlyconnected to the growth of sectors such as the auto sector and ofcompanies such as Automobile Dacia and Petrom, the biggest companyon the Romanian market.
The tight connection between theprogression of Automobile Dacia and the local economy has led to agrowth of the economy at this time, but in 2009, when the Miovenicarmaker suspended production both in Romania and in WesternEurope, before the launch of car scrappage schemes, it broughtabout a decline of the economy.
According to data from theRomanian statistics institute (INS), cars and equipment accountedfor nearly 43% of the overall EUR11 billion exports in the firstquarter, i.e. the equivalent of EUR4.7 billion. The second-biggestexports were manufactured products, with nearly 33%. Chemicalproducts and mineral fuels each accounted for around 6%.
Nicolaie Alexandru-Chideşciuc,chief economist of ING Bank, says the automotive sector, which wasmore reliant on exports, had the biggest contribution to theeconomic recovery. "The growth as far as economy is concerned camefrom industry, i.e. largely from exports. Auto exports accountedfor the biggest share, and this is not just cars, but alsosubassemblies. Second was electric equipment, which had a very goodperformance, while third was export of oil-based products,"Chideşciuc says. So, surprisingly, the higher price of fuels helpedthe economy recover because it saw a zdecline in domesticconsumption, putting producers in a position to export more,including in terms of volume. In addition, revenues from exportedproducts were also higher, in direct connection with the prices.
The statistics institute is set torelease a detailed structure of the GDP on June 8, and only then itwill be apparent which sectors have contributed to the economicrecovery and which remained on a downward path. Chideşciuc saysthere was probably also a slight growth in domestic consumption inthe first quarter.
"We had very low interest rates onRON-denominated loans and a rather low exchange rate, whichprobably helped consumption in the first quarter. Not necessarilythrough new loans, because sales were weak, but clients had less topay on ongoing loans," Chideşciuc says.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
