That dollar amount reflects a 30.2% upturn compared to $77.3 billion worth of Romanian products exported 5 years earlier during 2019.
Year over year, the overall value of Romanian exported products rose by 3.9% from $96.8 billion in 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Romanian leu depreciated by -7.9% against the US dollar since 2019 but appreciated by 2.4% from 2022 to 2023. Romania’s weaker local currency after 2019 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Top International Customers for Romanian Exports
The latest available country-specific data shows that more than two-thirds (69.3%) of products exported from Romania was bought by importers in: Germany (20.8% of the Romanian total), Italy (10.2%), France (6.3%), Hungary (5.7%), Bulgaria (4.2%), Poland (3.7%), Netherlands (3.4%), Türkiye (3.26%), Spain (3.23%), Czech Republic (3.22%), United Kingdom (2.9%) and Belgium (2.4%).
From a continental perspective, 83.9% of Romania’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 9.8% was sold to importers in Asia.
Romania joined the European Union on January 1, 2007 albeit Romania maintains its own legal currency.
Fellow EU member states bought 73.6% of all Romanian export sales.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in Africa (2.9%), North America (also 2.9%), Latin America (0.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean then Oceania led by Australia and New Zealand (0.2%).
Given Romania’s population of 19.03 million people, its total $100.6 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $5,300 for every resident in the East European country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $5,100 per person one year earlier for 2022.
Romania’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Romanian global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Romania.
- Electrical machinery, equipment: US$18.2 billion (18.1% of total exports)
- Vehicles: $15.6 billion (15.5%)
- Machinery including computers: $10.2 billion (10.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $5.7 billion (5.6%)
- Cereals: $4.5 billion (4.4%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $3.6 billion (3.6%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $3.4 billion (3.4%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $3.2 billion (3.2%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $3.1 billion (3.1%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $2.6 billion (2.6%)
Romania’s top 10 exports accounted for more than two-thirds (69.6%) of the overall value of Romanian shipments.
Electrical machinery and equipment was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 14.4% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was vehicles via a 13.4% advance.
Romania’s shipments of rubber (both as materials plus articles made from rubber) also posted a 13.4% gain in value.
The leading decliner among Romania’s top 10 export categories was mineral fuels including oil, pull down by a -23.2% year-over-year drop.
At the more detailed 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, the most valuable Romanian export products are automobile parts or accessories (7.7% of Romania’s export total), cars (6.9%), insulated wire or cable (4.4%), electrical and optical circuit boards or panels (3.8%), processed petroleum oils (2.6%), new rubber tires (2.5%), wheat (2.2%), corn (1.7%), seats excluding barber or dentist chairs (1.6%), then electrical energy (1.3%).
Products Generating Romania’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Romanian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports reflect the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Cereals: US$3.7 billion (Up by 3.6% since 2022)
- Vehicles: $2.4 billion (Down by -12.1%)
- Oil seeds: $1.6 billion (Up by 62.8%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $1.32 billion (Up by 15.8%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $1.31 billion (Up by 49.3%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $1.2 billion (Down by -3.3%)
- Wood: $985.6 million (Down by -25.1%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $345.6 million (Up by 2.6%)
- Live animals: $323.6 million (Up by 5.7%)
- Arms, ammunition: $245.6 million (2022 data unavailable)
Romania has highly positive net exports in the international trade of cereals, notably corn, wheat and barley. In turn, these cashflows indicate Romania’s strong competitive advantages under the cereals product category.
Products Causing Romania’s Worst Trade Deficits
Romania incurred an overall -US$31.3 billion trade deficit during 2023, down -12.7% from the -$35.9 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Romania that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Romania’s goods trail Romanian importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$5.6 billion (Down by -36.8% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$4.4 billion (Up by 15.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$4.2 billion (Up by 12.8%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$3.7 billion (Down by -7%)
- Iron, steel: -$1.92 billion (Up by 13.3%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.89 billion (Down by -38%)
- Other chemical goods: -$1.7 billion (Down by -14.7%)
- Meat: -$1.3 billion (Up by 28%)
- Organic chemicals: -$961.6 million (Down by -31.3%)
- Fertilizers: -$954.9 million (Down by -49.9%)
Romania has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for crude oil, petroleum gases and electricity under the mineral fuels-related product category.
Romanian Export Companies
Not one Romanian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia also lists Romanian companies engaged in international trade. Selected examples are shown below.
- Antibiotice Iași (pharmaceuticals)
- Arctic S.A. (household appliances)
- Automobile Dacia (cars)
- Daewoo-Mangalia Heavy Industries DMHI (ships)
- European Drinks & Foods (food, beverages)
- Farmec (cosmetics, personal hygiene)
- Jolidon (lingerie, swimsuits)
- Roman (trucks, buses)
- Romstal (sanitary wear)
- Tehnoton (home electronics, machinery)
In macroeconomic terms, Romania’s total exported goods represent 12.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($780.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 12.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 13.1% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Romania’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Romania’s unemployment rate averaged 5.6% in 2023, down from an average 5.625% one year earlier for 2022 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Romania’s capital city is Bucharest.
See also Romania’s Top Trading Partners, Moldova’s Top 10 Exports, Hungary’s Top 10 Exports and Poland’s Top Trading Partners<
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Romania. Accessed on April 22, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 22, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on April 22, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 22, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 22, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 22, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 22, 2024
Wikipedia, Romania. Accessed on April 22, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Romania. Accessed on April 22, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 22, 2024