Economy Ministry Drafts Strategy To Boost Exports

05.06.2011 By Ioana Tudor

Romania’s Economy Ministry put forward a bill to create a risk fund, financed from the state budget, to fight the economic crisis and support exporters of Romanian products and services.

The draft export strategy for 2011-2015 lists 15 sectors that might contribute to increasing exports, such as rural tourism, sustainable agriculture, design, construction, the aerospace industry, petrochemical services and the IT sector, the automotive, furniture, textile, wine and electronic industries.

According to the draft strategy, Romanian products will be exported mainly to Germany, France, Russia, China, Middle East and Near East countries, Ukraine, Turkey, India, the UK, Italy, Spain, Israel, Japan, the United States, Cyprus, Austria, Serbia, Poland and Brazil.

The document reads that most Romanian exporters lack management skills, and few of them have powerful brands.

The draft normative act is available for public debate on the ministry's website.

Romania's exports rose 27.3% on the year to EUR37.2 billion in 2010, and imports were up 19.1% to EUR46.7 billion. The trade deficit narrowed to 39.8 billion lei (about EUR9.46 billion) last year. (EUR1=RON4.1208)