Romania’s trade deficit widens
The significant rise in global prices for fuels and natural gas is also reflected in Romania’s trade deficit.
Roxana Vasile, 13.10.2026, 13:50
The significant rise in global prices for fuels and natural gas is also reflected in Romania’s trade deficit, which increased by more than 307 million euros in the first eight months of this year compared with the same period in 2025. The latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics show that imports were considerably more expensive than exports. Between January and August, Romania imported goods worth more than 88 billion euros, while exports totaled almost 66 billion euros. The trade deficit thus exceeded 22 billion euros, up 1.4% on the same period last year. Furthermore, in August, imports grew faster than exports compared with the same month in 2025, contributing to a further widening of the imbalance.
Machinery and transport equipment accounted for the largest share of both exports and imports, representing more than 45% of exports and over 36% of imports. More than 70% of Romania’s trade in goods, both exports and imports, was conducted with European Union countries. Economic analyst Constantin Rudnițchi attributes this trend to the higher value of imports of fuels and chemical products, whose prices on international markets were higher than last year: “We imported larger quantities of more expensive goods, and if we look at the increase in imports, we will see that it comes from petroleum products and fuels. We know very well that, for various reasons, Romania imported more fuel this year, probably particularly in August. Chemical products also contributed to the increase. These products were more expensive on international markets than last year, for example, and this has certainly been reflected in the trade balance for the first eight months of the year.”
Why does the trade deficit matter? Specialists explain that a high level of imports compared with exports indicates that domestic products are struggling to compete on international markets or even on the domestic market against foreign goods. A persistently large trade deficit over the long term points to an underdeveloped domestic production base, meaning that the country relies on foreign suppliers for essential goods such as chemicals, energy and semi-finished products.
In recent years, Romania has consistently recorded an annual trade deficit running into tens of billions of euros. A persistent trade deficit can lead, among other things, to depreciation of the national currency, rising external debt, job losses, higher prices for domestically produced goods and, consequently, a decline in consumers’ purchasing power. (EE)
