Romania

📊 Overview

Romania stands as the world's #41 largest exporter and #35 largest importer, demonstrating substantial regional trade importance.

The trade profile reveals a deficit of 28.67 billion, reflecting import dependencies for growth.

The country maintains active trading relationships with 20 major partners, creating a highly diversified trade network.

Monthly trade flows average $19.97B, generating continuous economic activity across logistics, finance, and trade services.

🚢 Export Markets

Export concentration shows Germany as the dominant market at 19.3%. The top three markets control 35.1% of exports.

Regional patterns reveal European market focus. Secondary markets (Bulgaria, USA, Türkiye) provide $18.44B in additional trade.

📦 Import Sources

Romania relies heavily on Germany for imports (18.4%),maintaining balanced sourcing.

Manufacturing inputs come primarily from China, reflecting deep integration into Asian production networks. China's dominant position at 7.54 billion encompasses electronics components, textiles, machinery parts, and consumer goods, creating both efficiency benefits and concentration risks.

The top 10 import sources account for 65.9% of total imports, with the remaining 34% distributed among 10 other suppliers.

Regional sourcing patterns reveal diversified global sourcing. European suppliers including Germany (24.72B), Italy (11.34B), France (5.65B) focus on luxury goods, machinery, and specialized chemicals.

Supply chain resilience strategies increasingly emphasize "China Plus One" approaches, with Indiaemerging as alternative manufacturing bases. The geographic proximity of major suppliers balances efficiency with risk diversification.

📦 Product Composition

🚀 Export Products

Romania's export economy centers on automotive manufacturing, with the leading export being with only spark-ignition internal combustion reciprocating piston engine, cylinder capacity not over 1000ccat $4.98 billion, accounting for 4.7% of total exports.

Vehicle-related products including passenger cars, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, and automotive parts total approximately 13.85 billion or 13.1% of exports, encompassing 7 distinct product categories. Electronics, semiconductors, and machinery contribute 6.86 billion or 6.5% of exports.

The automotive sector's dominance is evident in the export portfolio, with with only spark-ignition internal combustion recip... (4.98B), ignition wiring sets and other wiring sets of a ki... (2.53B), gear boxes and parts thereof (2.28B), with only spark-ignition internal combustion recip... (1.91B), with only compression-ignition internal combustion... (1.22B). This automotive specialization reflects decades of manufacturing excellence, continuous innovation in fuel efficiency and hybrid technology, and established global brand recognition.

The transition to electric and hybrid vehicles is captured in export data, with 3 categories specifically related to alternative propulsion systems, totaling $7.14B.

Beyond automotive, Romania maintains strong positions in specialized equipment, electronic components (6.86B), and Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crude, Cereals, Rubber.

The top 20 export products collectively account for 34.0% of total exports, revealing healthy product diversification across multiple sectors.

🛒 Import Products

Import requirements center on petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude at 4.46 billion (3.3%), indicating resource dependency.

Beyond energy, critical imports include consisting of mixed or unmixed products ... (3.45B, 2.6%), gear boxes and parts thereof (1.94B, 1.4%), Telephones for cellular networks or for ... (1.49B, 1.1%), n.e.c. in heading no. 8542 (1.16B, 0.9%), sunflower seed or safflower oil and thei... (1.14B, 0.9%).Electronic components and devices total 6.18 billion (4.6% of imports), supporting domestic manufacturing and assembly operations. Pharmaceutical products represent 4.27 billion (3.2%), reflecting healthcare sector demands.

The import product mix reveals structural characteristics of Romania's economy: heavy reliance on imported energy despite industrial advancement, integration into global electronics supply chains, food security dependencies, and sophisticated consumption patterns.

The ratio of raw materials to finished goods in imports (9 : 11among top 20 products) indicates balanced import composition. Import substitution potential exists in chemicals and technology sectors through targeted industrial policies and investment.

Product diversification metrics reveal focused product specializationwith implications for economic resilience and growth potential. The technology ladder progression from 9 primary products to 11 high-tech goods indicates the economy's structural transformation and industrial upgrading trajectory.

Value addition opportunities exist in transitioning from raw material exports to processed goods, from components to finished products, and from standard to customized offerings. The product space connectivity, measuring relatedness between current exports and potential new products, suggests strong potential for diversification into adjacent sophisticated products.

⚖️ Trade Balance Dynamics

Export-to-import ratio of 0.786 means exports cover 78.6% of import costs.

🔗 Key Relationships

The Romania-Germany relationship leads at 45.11 billion in bilateral trade.View detailed analysis →

Additional major partnerships include Hungary (12.91B total trade), France (12.01B total trade), Poland (11.85B total trade). Regional integration through transatlantic partnerships facilitates technology transfer, market access, and production efficiency. The diversity of trading relationships—148.76B across top 10 partners—provides resilience against bilateral tensions and regional disruptions.

🏆 Competitive Position

Global rankings position Romania as the #41 exporter worldwide,as a significant regional trader. The country's share of global exports at approximately 1.055%offers opportunities for market share expansion.

Export sophistication, measured by the dominance of technology-intensive products, indicates advanced industrial capabilities. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index shows strongest competitiveness in sectors where Romania's global market share exceeds its overall trade share by factors of 2 or more.

Competitive advantages emerge in sectors where export concentration exceeds import share, particularly inwith only spark-ignition , for electric control or t, preparations n.e.c. conta. The revealed comparative advantage is strongest in product categories representing10.5% of exports. Market positioning against regional competitors shows niche specialization opportunities.

Trade complementarity with major partners suggests regional production network participation. The export quality ladder, comparing unit values to world averages, indicates competitive pricing strategies.

Competitive dynamics are shaped by factor endowments including cost advantages and resource availability, infrastructure quality, and business environment. The export survival rate, measuring the persistence of export relationships over time, suggests need for relationship strengthening.

Innovation capacity, reflected in the technology content of exports and R&D intensity, determines long-term competitiveness trajectories. The competitive threat from emerging exporters in similar product categories requires continuous upgrading and differentiation strategies to maintain market position. Regional integration through trade agreements provides preferential access to0 markets, creating competitive advantages over non-member competitors.

🎯 Strategic Outlook

The trade profile presents both opportunities and challenges for economic development strategy. Key strengths include strong import capacity enabling technology transfer and consumption growth,diversified market access reducing concentration risk, and competitive positions in high-value manufacturing.

Vulnerabilities include product concentration in cyclical sectors. The intersection of these factors creates a complex strategic landscape requiring careful navigation to maximize opportunities while mitigating risks.

Strategic priorities should focus on export promotion and import substitution to enhance trade competitiveness. Opportunities exist in expanding trade with Spain, Netherlands, Austria, developing new product capabilities in adjacent product categories, and strengthening regional integration through new partnership frameworks.

The digital transformation of trade, including e-commerce, digital services, and blockchain-based trade finance, offers new avenues for market access and efficiency gains. Green trade opportunities in renewable energy, sustainable products, and carbon markets represent growing segments aligned with global sustainability goals.

The evolving global trade environment, characterized by technological disruption, geopolitical realignment, and sustainability imperatives, will fundamentally reshape Romania's trade prospects. Success requires balanced policies addressing both improving export capacity while ensuring sustainable import financing.

Investment in infrastructure, education, and innovation ecosystems will determine the ability to climb value chains and capture larger shares of global value addition. The resilience agenda, emphasizing supply chain robustness, strategic autonomy in critical sectors, and economic security considerations, must be balanced with efficiency and openness principles.

As global trade patterns continue evolving, Romania's position as the world's #41 exporter provides a platform for continued growth, requiring adaptive strategies, institutional strengthening, and sustained commitment to competitiveness enhancement in an increasingly complex and interconnected global economy.