Export orders for Q4 dropped by 10-30%

The impact of the crisis is already being felt in all the export sectors, Ionescu said. He asked banks to continue to lend money to exporters and to ensure co-financing for companies that have already applied for projects financed by way of European or governmental funds for competitiveness improvement.

Banca Comeriala Romana (BCR) Chief Economist, Lucian Anghel, told Business Standard that companies could use a tougher cost control to become more efficient and compensate to a greater extent the decline in export orders.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), Romania’s trade deficit amounted to €16.934 billion in the first nine months of 2008, a 12.51 percent annual increase. Exports totaled RON 93.039 bln (€25.581 bln) in the first three quarters, while the value of imports reached RON 15.46 bln (€42.5 bln).

Exports increased by an annual 30.4 percent for lei values and by 18.3 percent for euro amounts, while imports rose 27.8 and 15.9 percent year-on-year, respectively.