(story to be published in tomorrow's issue, March 8)
Romania's trade deficit in 1999 came to almost 1.9 billion dollars, half the value registered during the previous year, of about 3.5 billion dollars, due to a drop in imports by 12.2 percent and an increase in exports by 2.4 percent, according to the National Statistics Commission (CNS). Even though slightly on growth, exports reached the highest value within the last ten years, of 8.5 billion dollars, while imports shrank to 10.4 billion dollars. The fall is triggered mainly by a lack of foreign financing sources as a mere net volume of about 200 million dollars entered Romania last year, the rest of the deficit having been covered by non-identified inflows. The fact that exports have been stuck to the limit of 8 billion dollars during the last five years is explained by specialists by a saturation of the principal market, the European Union, so that Romania has a chance of overcoming its outcast status in Central and Eastern Europe from the point of view of exports per capita either by finding other markets, or through a tighter competitiveness of goods. "Romania has already reached the peak of exports within the European Union and CEFTA against products competitiveness," says Mihai Ionescu, president of the National Association of Exporters and Importers. Ionescu explains the weak position among neighbouring countries from the point of view of exports through the still heavy weight in exports of state-owned enterprises that continue to manufacture on stocks. Last year, private firms exported goods worth 5.6 billion dollars, while imports came to 7.6 million dollars, 50 percent and 30 percent higher, respectively year-on-year, with major weight within exports, but figures are relative taking into account the fact that producers, state-owned enterprises, most frequently export through private firms. In 1999, Romania was mainly a producer of clothes, including textiles and footwear (with weight of 25 percent and 8 percent respectively) and a manufacturer of metallurgic products (15 percent), electrical machinery, devices and equipment getting to 11 percent, largely along the same structure characterising the '70s, according to specialists. "The structure of Romanian exports has changed in line with economic restructuring and the change in the products' offer. It is however necessary to speed up privatisation programmes and programmes aimed at the restructuring of the Romanian economy to the end of attaining higher competitiveness," says Mihai Berinde, sub-secretary of state within the Industry and Trade Ministry. For this year, economic growth of 1.7 percent projected by the Government led by Mugur Isarescu is based upon a rally in exports, by at least 500 million dollars and on an increase in investments. The target of 9 billion dollars could be reached through a more powerful penetration of foreign markets within the sectors of glass and ceramics, according to Mihai Ionescu, while the representative of the Industry and Trade Ministry counts on an additional value in exports derived from the domain of constructions and laminated products.
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