‘Good news’, ‘positive signal’, ‘pleasant surprise’, this is how economic analysts describe first quarter’s economic growth. They do, however, warn against getting carried away, saying everybody should remain realistic and conduct the structural reforms that have been postponed again and again.
“Getting carried away could be harmful. We should remain realistic and see to our business, the structural reform agenda, to be able to adopt the euro in 2019,” says Ionut Dumitru, chief economist of Raiffeisen Bank.
Even though most macroeconomic data are encouraging, the business sector has not felt in its revenue the growth of the economy that statistics are showing, as neither have consumers. The number of insolvencies remains high, despite a decline lately, while the loan burden is still heavy on the Romanians’ shoulders and entrepreneurs are still expecting steps that encourage the business sector.
“The ‘fabulous’ indicators are not showing in real life. We won’t be doing better as long as we keep importing food, and Romanians are slaving away throughout Europe,” says Cristian Cornea, general manager of tin can manufacturer Can Pack with over EUR70 million revenue.
“I’m eagerly watching Romania’s ‘fabulous’ macroeconomic indicators and don’t see them translate into real life.”
Felix Patrascanu, one of the three owners of courier service company FAN Courier, which posted EUR62.5 million revenue last year, says “pressure is heavier than last year”, “profit is dwindling” and “the government doesn’t help” companies.
The flash estimates revealed by the National Statistics Institute on Thursday indicate a GDP growth of 3.8% in the first quarter, compared with the year-ago period, yet compared with the fourth quarter of 2013, the growth stood at merely 0.1%.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)