Imports grew 7.4% on the year in the first quarter, to EUR21.176 billion, while exports grew just 3.2%, totaling EUR17.532 billion.
Vehicles and other transport equipment made up 48.1% of Romania’s exports and 36.9% of its imports in the first quarter, while other manufactured goods accounted for 32.2% of exports and 30.5% of imports.
The European Union remained Romania’s main trading partner in the first quarter, being the source of 75.3% of the country’s imports and receiving 77.8% of its exports.
In March alone, imports grew 2.7% compared with March 2018, to EUR7.361 billion, while exports grew 0.4%, to EUR6.129 billion, resulting in a trade gap of EUR1.232 billion, the data showed.