Romania's trade deficit in the first six months widened by 23% compared to the same period in 2020, to EUR 10.66 bln, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

It neared 5% of the year's projected GDP, as a downside of the demand-driven robust recovery.

The 23% increase amounted to EUR 1.98 bln, in absolute terms. Between January 1 and June 30, 2021, FOB exports amounted to EUR 36.17 bln while the CIF imports amounted to EUR 46.83 bln.

Compared to the same period in 2020, Romania's exports recovered by 26.5% while the imports increased slightly slower, by 25.6%.

However, compared to the pre-crisis period 2019 (H1), the exports edged up modestly by 4.7%, while the imports rose by 10.6%.

Consequently, the trade deficit deepened by 38% in H1 this year compared to the same period of 2019. In absolute terms, the EUR 10.66 bln trade gap means nearly 4.9% of the annual GDP (nearly 9.8% in annualised terms). 

(Photo: Pixabay)

iulian@romania-insider.com