For the full year, the association’s representatives forecast a 20%-30% fall in exports.
"In the first five months, the exports, expressed in euros, fell 21.1%, while in June the downfall accelerated at 26.7%. Thus, the first semester’s decrease will be of 20%-25%, and signals are not good for the second part of the year," ANEIR’s secretary general Mihai Ionescu said Friday.
Ionescu said the construction, steel and chemical industries are the most affected sectors, alongside with the furniture and glassware production.
However, the export of drug medicines rose 30% in the first semester, while the food, energy equipment and cosmetics exports also increased, he added.
Romania’s trade deficit narrowed in January-May period to EUR3.62 billion from EUR9.1 billion in the same period a year earlier, the National Statistics Institute reported. In the analyzed period, exports were at EUR11 billion, down 21.1% on the year, while imports fell 36.5%, to EUR14.6 billion.