In January-May 2014, the trade gap was EUR2.29 billion.
Imports rose 5.4% on the year to EUR24.8 billion, while exports were 4.7% higher, at EUR22.3 billion, the data showed.
Vehicles amounted to 44.3% of overall exports and 36.7% of the imports in the first five months, while other manufactured items made up for 33.3% of Romanian exports and 31.4% of imports.
The European Union is the main trade partner of Romania, receiving 73.6% of the country’s exports and accounting for 76.9% of imports in the January-May period.
In May alone, exports were at EUR4.48 billion, up 3.2% on the year, while imports rose by a similar percentage to EUR5.03 billion. Therefore, the May trade gap was EUR547.3 billion, from EUR532 billion in the same month of 2014.
Compared with April, the exports were up 2%, but imports fell 0.2%.
In 2014, Romania’s exports reached a record high EUR52.5 billion but the country’s trade deficit still widened slightly as a rebound in domestic consumption fueled a rise in imports, also to a record high of EUR58.5 billion.