Over 10% increase for food imports | Progresiv

In the context of constant growth in the consumption area, the need on the local market has been largely covered by imports. Romanian companies imported food and live animals worth over 6.1 billion euros in the first 11 months of 2019, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Compared to the total of imported goods, this segment reached 7.7%. Compared with the similar period of 2018, imports in this category increased by 10.8%.

In the same period, Romania also imported beverages and tobacco worth over 670 million euros, which means 0.8% of the total imports made between January and November 2019. As compared to the same period in 2018, growth is 3.1%.

In this category, however, exports increased considerably. INS data indicate an increase of over 32% in exports of beverages and tobacco, the cumulative value being over one billion euros.

Companies operating on the local market also exported food and live animals. At the end of November, INS data indicated exports worth 4.4 billion euros, meaning a share of 6.9% of total exports.

Data released by the National Institute of Statistics shows that at the end of November, total imports amounted to almost 80 billion euros, while total exports were slightly over 64 billion euros. As a result, Romania's trade deficit reached 15.5 billion euros after the first 11 months of last year, given that exports do not keep pace with the rapid pace of imports. Compared to 2018, the trade deficit is 2.1 billion euros higher.