That dollar amount reflects an 25.2% increase from $70.6 billion worth of Romanian exports 5 years earlier during 2017.
Year over year, the overall value of Romanian exported products accelerated by 24.4% from $71 billion in 2020.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2021, the Romanian leu depreciated by -2.7% against the US dollar since 2017 but strengthened by 2% from 2020 to 2021. Romania’s stronger local currency since 2020 makes its exports paid for in weaker US dollars relatively more expensive for international buyers.
Top International Customers for Romanian Exports
The latest available country-specific data shows that 69.4% of products exported from Romania were bought by importers in: Germany (20.5% of Romania’s global total), Italy (10.5%), France (6.4%), Hungary (5.7%), Poland (4%), Bulgaria (3.9%), Turkey (3.5%), Netherlands (3.4%), Czech Republic (3.1%), Spain (3%), United Kingdom (2.9%) and Austria (2.5%).
From a continental perspective, 83.1% of Romania’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 10.5% was sold to importers in Asia. Romania shipped another 3.1% worth of goods to Africa.
Smaller percentages went to North America (2.7%), Latin America (0.4%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Romania’s population of 19.4 million people, its total $88.4 billion in 2021 exports translates to roughly $4,600 for every resident in the East European country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $3,600 per person one year earlier during 2020.
Romania’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Romanian global shipments during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Romania.
- Electrical machinery, equipment: US$15.6 billion (17.6% of total exports)
- Vehicles: $12.9 billion (14.6%)
- Machinery including computers: $9.9 billion (11.2%)
- Cereals: $4.3 billion (4.8%)
- Iron, steel: $3.9 billion (4.4%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $3.1 billion (3.5%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting , signs, prefab buildings: $2.9 billion (3.3%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $2.8 billion (3.2%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $2.8 billion (3.2%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $2.7 billion (3.1%)
Romania’s top 10 exports accounted for more than two-thirds (69.1%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
The metals iron and steel represent the fastest-growing commodities among the top 10 Romanian export categories, up by 99.4% from 2020 to 2021.
In second place for improving export sales were mineral fuels including oil via a 81.4% advance.
Romania’s shipments of cereals posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 75.1%, propelled by greater revenues for wheat, corn and barley.
The most modest increase among Romania’s top 10 export categories was vehicles thanks to its 6.2% year-over-year uptick.
At the more detailed 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, the most valuable Romanian export products are automobile parts or accessories (7.5% of Romania’s export total), cars (6.3%), insulated wire or cable (4.7%), electrical and optical circuit boards or panels (3.4%), corn (2.2%), new rubber tires (also 2.2%), processed petroleum oils (2.1%) and wheat (also 2.1%).
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$3.5 billion (Up by 114.5% since 2020)
- Vehicles: $2.6 billion (Down by -33.2%)
- Wood: $1.4 billion (Up by 42.2%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $1.3 billion (Up by 4.2%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $1.18 billion (Up by 1.9%)
- Oil seeds: $1.16 billion (Up by 98.8%)
- Ships, boats: $768 million (Up by 12.2%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $759.1 million (Up by 7.9%)
- Live animals: $365.2 million (Up by 44.6%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $344.9 million (Down by -25.1%)
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 vehicles product category.
Products Causing Romania’s Worst Trade Deficits
Romania incurred an overall -$28 billion trade deficit during 2021, up 33.3% from the -$21 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2020.
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$5.7 billion (Up by 82.4% since 2020)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$3.9 billion (Up by 34.8%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$3.7 billion (Up by 13.8%)
- Machinery including computers: -$3.5 billion (Up by 6.9%)
- Other chemical goods: -$1.9 billion (Up by 29.2%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.5 billion (Up by 28.6%)
- Organic chemicals: -$1.1 billion (Up by 33.1%)
- Fertilizers: -$896.4 million (Up by 143.8%)
- Copper: -$884.9 million (Up by 57.8%)
- Meat: -$868.2 million (Up by 6.1%)
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 13.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2021 ($651.6 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 13.6% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2021 compares to 12.1% for 2020. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Romania’s total economic performance, albeit based on short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Romania’s unemployment rate averaged 5.3% in 2021, up from an average 5.035% one year earlier for 2020 according to statistics from the International Monetary Fund.
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</a>
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Romania. Accessed on July 20, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 20, 2022
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (National Currency per U.S. dollar, period average)
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 20, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 20, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 20, 2022
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on July 20, 2022
Wikipedia, Romania. Accessed on July 20, 2022
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Romania. Accessed on July 20, 2022
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on July 20, 2022
