Romania recorded a deficit of almost EUR 664 million in the trade with food and agricultural products in the first six months of this year.

The deficit was three times higher compared to the one recorded during the same period in 2015 when it amounted to EUR 211.8 million, according to the Agriculture Ministry’s data cited by local Agerpres.

The exports of food and agricultural products dropped by 4.9% year-on-year reaching EUR 2.33 billion whereas the imports rose by 12.5% to 2.99 billion.

The European Union remains Romania’s most important partner in the trade with food and agricultural products. The deliveries to the EU member states account for 58.4% of the total exports. The imports from the EU represent 81.5% of the total on this segment.

In the first half of this year, the exports were still dominated by wheat, tobacco and corn. Romanians mainly imported pork bakery products, biscuits, and food.

Romania earned EUR 421.7 million from the wheat exports in the first half.

editor@romania-insider.com