Romania’s trade deficit balloons to 11.8% of GDP in 2022 on high energy prices

Romania’s trade with goods posted a deficit of EUR 34 bln in 2022, 44% more compared to 2021, as the country is a net importer of energy and energy-intensive goods (steel, chemicals).

The country’s exports increased by 23% YoY to EUR 92 bln, while the imports surged by 28% YoY to EUR 126 bln. The trade gap thus rose from 8.4% of GDP in 2021 to 11.8% of GDP in 2022.

Even for the category of machinery and transport equipment, where the automobile industry reported record output and a 20% growth in terms of the number of cars produced, the exports increased by only 14% while the imports surged by 19% – resulting in a net deficit of EUR 3 bln.

The chemical industry’s trade gap rose to EUR 13.7 bln after the imports advanced by 23% YoY to EUR 18.2 bln. This was almost twice the net import of mineral fuels (EUR 8 bln), where the imports soared by 170% YoY.

In the last quarter of the year, both exports and imports lost momentum, and consequently, the trade gap rose by only 31% YoY after the 50%-60% growth rates in Q2-Q3.

For this year, the state forecasting body CNP expects the imports to still outpace exports, with a softer growth rate of 12.5% (versus +10.6% for the exports). The country’s trade gap is seen as reaching EUR 40 bln, or 12.3% of GDP.