Romanian exports - on the rise

Romania's exports emerged out of the recession and, after eight months of steady growth, it almost reached the level reported before the recession struck, the secretary general of the National Association of Romanian Exporters and Importers (ANEIR), Mihai Ionescu, stated, on Wednesday, in a press conference.

After a downward trend which lasted exactly 12 months, from November 2008 to October 2009, export being the first sector which announced Romania's descent into recession, for eight months, November 2009 to June 2010, exports have been on a steady rise and the loss in the volume of export in the same interval, during the recession, of about EUR 3.6 bln, has been recovered almost in full.

Romanian exports indicate a concentration process and, in the first four months of 2010, a number of 100 major companies accounted for 53 per cent of the total export volume. The ranking of the first 100 exporters features only four Romanian-capital companies - Oltchim, Hidroelectrica, Interagro and Compa Sibiu - while the rest are multinational corporations.

Romania's biggest exporters in the first four months of 2010 were Dacia, Nokia Romania, Rompetrol, ArcelorMittal Galati, OMV Petrom, Petrotel-Lukoil, Renault Industrie Roumanie, Honey Well, Continental, Autoliv, Lisa Draxlmaier, Alro Slatina, Daewoo Mangalia, Takata-Petri.

In March and April 2010, export amounted to higher figures than those in the same months before the recession. During the first four months of 2010, exports amounted to EUR 10.827 bln, compared to EUR 8.764 bln in the same interval of 2009, respectively, EUR 10.937 bln in the first four months of 2008.

Moreover, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and the Business Environment announced, yesterday, that it would reduce its network of economic representatives operating abroad from 124 at present to 80, with a view to enhancing the efficiency and flexibility of their activity.

Nine O'Clock