A landlocked Eastern European nation surrounded by Ukraine and Romania, the Republic of Moldova shipped US$3.56 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2024.

That dollar amount results from a 44.1% increase compared to $2.5 billion five years earlier starting in 2020.

Year over year, the overall value of Moldovan export fell by -12.2% starting from 4.05 billion starting from 2023.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, Moldova uses the Moldovan leu which depreciated by -2.7% against the US dollar since 2020 but increased by 2.1% from 2023 to 2024. The weaker Moldovan currency compared to 2020 made Moldova’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for international buyers starting with American currency.

The 5 biggest export products from Moldova are insulated wire and cable, sunflower seeds, wheat, wine and processed petroleum oils. Those 5 major products represent over two-thirds (36.3%) of the overall value for Moldovan exports during 2024.

Moldova’s Key Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 82.9% of products exported from Moldova was bought by importers in: Romania (32.6% of the Moldovan total), Ukraine (9.3%), Italy (6.7%), Czech Republic (6.1%), Türkiye (6%), Germany (4.8%), Poland (4.3%), Russia (3.3%), Bulgaria (3.2%), United States of America (2.5%), Belarus (2.2%) and Greece (1.9%).

From a continental perspective, 84.6% of Moldova’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 10.8% was sold to importers in Asia. Moldova shipped another 2.8% worth of goods to buyers in North America.

Tinier percentages went to buyers in customers based in Africa (1.7%), Latin America (0.07%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean then Oceania (0.03%) led by Australia.

Given Moldova’s population of 2.4 million people, its total $3.56 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $1,450 for every resident in the Eastern European country. That dollar metric lags the average $1,600 per person one year earlier during 2023.

Moldova’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Moldovan global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Moldova.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: US$579.3 million (16.3% of total exports)
2. Oil seeds: $364.2 million (10.2%)
3. Cereals: $291.2 million (8.2%)
4. Fruits, nuts: $282.4 million (7.9%)
5. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $271.4 million (7.6%)
6. Mineral fuels including oil: $201.1 million (5.7%)
7. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $179.7 million (5.1%)
8. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: $145.9 million (4.1%)
9. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $133.5 million (3.8%)
10. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $122.7 million (3.5%)

Moldova’s top 10 exports generated almost three-quarters (72.3%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Oil seeds was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 28.2% from 2023 to 2024.

In second place for improving export sales was vegetable, fruit or nut preparations via a 23.7% advance.

Moldova’s shipments of beverages, spirits and vinegar posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 16.7%.

The leading decliner among Moldova’s top 10 export categories were mineral fuels including oil, thanks to a -55.8% year-over-year drop.

The above listing is at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.

Drilling down to the more granular four-digit HTS codes, insulated wire or cable represent Moldova’s most valuable exported product at 14.3% of the country’s total. In second place was sunflower seeds (9.8%) trailed by sunflower seeds (8.6%), wheat (5.6%), wine (4%), processed petroleum oils (3.8%), sunflower, safflower or cotton-seed oils (3.2%), fruit and vegetable juices (2.7%), seats excluding barber and dentist chairs (2.6%), fresh apples or pears (2.1%) then the apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines and plums (2%) subcategory.

Products Generating Moldova’s Largest Trade Surpluses

The following types of Moldovan 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 represent 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.

1. Oil seeds: US$285.5 million (Up by 46.7% since 2023)
2. Cereals: $262.5 million (Down by -26.3%)
3. Fruits, nuts: $178 million (Up by 6.9%)
4. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $156.9 million (Up by 14.1%)
5. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $93.2 million (Down by -12.4%)
6. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $85.3 million (Up by 29.6%)
7. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $42.9 million (Down by -79.8%)
8. Glass: $22.3 million (Down by -43.4%)
9. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefab buildings: $17.9 million (Down by -65.9%)
10. Copper: $10.3 million (Up by 311%)

Moldova has highly positive net exports in the international trade of oil seeds, corn and wheat. In turn, these cashflows indicate Moldova’s strong competitive advantages under the related product categories.

Products Causing Moldova’s Worst Trade Deficits

Overall Moldova incurred a -US$5.5 billion product trade deficit for 2024, expanding by 19.1% from -$4.6 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2023.

Below are exports from Moldova that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Moldova’s goods trail Moldovan importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.4 billion (Down by -9% since 2023)
2. Vehicles: -$748.2 million (Up by 23.9%)
3. Machinery including computers: -$628.4 million (Up by 19.6%)
4. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$347.9 million (Up by 42.5%)
5. Plastics, plastic articles: -$316.9 million (Up by 14.7%)
6. Pharmaceuticals: -$270.9 million (Up by 5.9%)
7. Iron, steel: -$160.5 million (Up by 34.9%)
8. Articles of iron or steel: -$148.8 million (Up by 38.7%)
9. Wood: -$140.6 million (Up by 12.7%)
10. Dairy, eggs, honey: -$135.5 million (Up by 25.6%)

Moldova incurs negative net exports and therefore international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related product category, historically for refined petroleum oils, petroleum gases, electrical energy, then petroleum coal and coke.

Moldovan Export-Related Businesses

Not one Moldovan corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

According to listings on leading trade portal Alibaba.com, the following exporters are examples of leading Moldovan companies. Shown within brackets is the primary products for each business.

• Argotour Trading Group (live sheep, cattle)
• Biz-Agro SRL (corn, wheat, barley, sunflower seeds)
• Colombus SRL (wafers, biscuits)
• G.T Botezatu (plums, grapes)
• Lion-Gri SRL (alcoholic beverages)
• Nuts Export SRL (walnuts)

Wikipedia also lists exports-related companies from Moldova. Selected examples are shown below.

• Acorex (wine)
• Aerotrans Cargo (cargo airliner)
• Ascom Group (oil, gas)
• Moldova Steel Works (steel, steel products)
• Romănești (wine)
• Tiraspoltransgas (gas)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Moldova’s total exported goods represent 7.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($44.9 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 7.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 9.7% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Moldova’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Moldova’s unemployment rate averaged 3.955% for 2024, down from an average 4.593% in 2023 per International Monetary Fund statistics.

Moldova’s capital city is Chisinau.

See also Romania’s Top Trading Partners, Turkey’s Top Trading Partners, Ukraine’s Top Trading Partners and Wheat Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Moldova. Accessed on December 14, 2025

EXCHANGE-RATES.org, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on December 14, 2025

Forbes 2024 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on December 14, 2025

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on December 14, 2025

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on December 14, 2025

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on December 14, 2025

Pixabay, Moldova’s national flag. Accessed on December 14, 2025

Wikipedia, Companies of Moldova. Accessed on December 14, 2025

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on December 14, 2025

Wikipedia, Moldova. Accessed on December 14, 2025

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on December 14, 2025