A landlocked Eastern European nation surrounded by Ukraine and Romania, the Republic of Moldova shipped US$4.34 billion worth of exported goods around the globe in 2022.

That dollar amount reflects a 60.2% increase compared to $2.7 billion in 2018.

Year over year, the overall value of Moldovan export accelerated by 37.9% from 3.144 billion during 2021.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, Moldova uses the Moldovan leu which depreciated by -12.5% against the US dollar since 2018 and diluted by -6.9% from 2021 to 2022. The weaker Moldovan currency in 2022 made Moldova’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for international buyers.

The 5 biggest export products from Moldova are processed petroleum oils, insulated wire and cable, sunflower, safflower or cotton-seed oil, corn and sunflower seeds. Those 5 major products represent almost half (48%) of the overall value for Moldovan exports during 2022.

Moldova’s Key Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 83.0% of products exported from Moldova were bought by importers in: Romania (28.6% of the Moldovan total), Ukraine (16.6%), Italy (7.6%), Türkiye (7%), Germany (5.3%), Russia (4.4%), Bulgaria (3.3%), Poland (2.8%), Czech Republic (2.4%), Belarus (1.9%), Netherlands (1.54%) and Switzerland (1.49%).

From a continental perspective, 85.8% of Moldova’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 12.1% was sold to importers in Asia. Moldova shipped another 1.5% worth of goods to buyers in North America.

Tinier percentages went to Africa (0.5%), Latin America (0.07%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.04%) led by Australia, Tuvalu and New Zealand.

Given Moldova’s population of 2.541 million people, its total $4.34 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $1,700 for every resident in the Eastern European country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $1,200 per person one year earlier during 2021.

Moldova’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Moldovan global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Moldova.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: US$592.1 million (13.7% of total exports)
2. Electrical machinery, equipment: $535.5 million (12.4%)
3. Cereals: $409.5 million (9.4%)
4. Oil seeds: $393.2 million (9.1%)
5. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $376.1 million (8.7%)
6. Fruits, nuts: $247.2 million (5.7%)
7. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $225.5 million (5.2%)
8. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $182.8 million (4.2%)
9. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $157.9 million (3.6%)
10. Glass: $114.9 million (2.7%)

Moldova’s top 10 exports generated about three-quarters (74.6%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 3,683% from 2021 to 2022. That product category was propelled by higher Moldovan revenues from exported refined petroleum oils.

In second place for improving export sales was animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes via a 210.6% advance.

Moldova’s shipments of oil seeds posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 52.3%.

The worst decliner among Moldova’s top 10 export categories was furniture, bedding, lighting, signs and prefabricated buildings, pulled down by a -6.7% drop year over year.

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

Drilling down to the more granular four-digit HTS codes, processed petroleum oils represent Moldova’s most valuable exported product at 12.9% of the country’s total. In second place was insulated wire or cable (11.6%) trailed by sunflower seeds (8.5%), corn (7.8%), sunflower seeds (also 7.8%), wine (2.9%), seats excluding barber and dentist chairs (2.5%), fresh apples and, to a much lesser extent, fresh pears (2.1%), glass containers including bottles and jars (2%), then cars (1.7%).

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. Cereals: US$345.1 million (Up by 1.2% since 2021)
2. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $297.1 million (Up by 219.8%)
3. Oil seeds: $252.1 million (Up by 27.1%)
4. Fruits, nuts: $157 million (Up by 9%)
5. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $141.9 million (Down by -6.6%)
6. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $108.8 million (Up by 19.6%)
7. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $67.6 million (Up by 62.5%)
8. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $47.6 million (Down by -17.6%)
9. Glass: $36.8 million (Up by 236.2%)
10. Copper: $11.9 million (Reversing a -$19.3 million deficit in 2021)

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

Products Causing Moldova’s Worst Trade Deficits

Overall Moldova incurred a -$4.9 billion product trade deficit for 2022, expanding by 21.1% from -$4 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2021.

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$2 billion (Up by 88.3% since 2021)
2. Machinery including computers: -$592.5 million (Down by -1%)
3. Vehicles: -$530.7 million (Up by 18%)
4. Plastics, plastic articles: -$303 million (Down by -6.7%)
5. Pharmaceuticals: -$231.5 million (Down by -6.5%)
6. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$220.2 million (Up by 47.9%)
7. Other chemical goods: -$139.1 million (Up by 13.4%)
8. Fertilizers: -$138.7 million (Up by 55.7%)
9. Wood: -$130.6 million (Down by -6.4%)
10. Iron, steel: -$127.1 million (Up by 27.7%)

Moldova has negative net exports and therefore international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related product category, notably 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 for 2021.

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 10.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($39.683 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 10.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 7.9% for 2021. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing 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 2.586% for 2022, down from 3.25% in 2021 per statistics from the International Monetary Fund.

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 June 7, 2023

Forbes 2022 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 7, 2023

International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on June 7, 2023

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on June 7, 2023

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 7, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 7, 2023

Pixabay, Moldova’s national flag. Accessed on June 7, 2023

Wikipedia, Companies of Moldova. Accessed on June 7, 2023

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on June 7, 2023

Wikipedia, Moldova. Accessed on June 7, 2023

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on June 7, 2023

WorldOMeter, Moldova Population. Accessed on June 7, 2023