Romania's trade deficit in goods widened by 15% y/y to EUR 33.9 billion (9.4% of GDP) in 2024, particularly as the exports edged down while the imports advanced slower than the +9.5% y/y nominal GDP (expressed in euros), according to data published by Romania's statistics office INS.

The trade gap accounted for only 8.9% of GDP in 2023.

Romania's exports edged down by 0.5% y/y to EUR 92.7 billion, while the imports advanced by 3.3% y/y to EUR 126.1 billion in 2024.

The annual growth rates for both exports and imports (expressed in euros) partly reflect lower commodity prices in 2024 meaning that, in volume terms, the dynamics might be a bit stronger. 

Thus, in January-September, the exports and imports increased in volume terms by 0.6% y/y and 4.6% y/y, respectively, while the exports denominated in euros contracted by 1.4% and the exports denominated in euros advanced by only 2.3% y/y. 

Even corrected for price effects, the advance of both imports and particularly exports remain modest compared to the overall GDP advance, meaning that the country's foreign trade lost momentum in 2024 – which is not totally unexpected given the slower activity in the industry, which generates a large part of the foreign trade.

The consumption and investments increased significantly and pushed up imports well above exports, thus deepening the country's current account deficit.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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