Over a quarter (26.4%) of Romania’s foreign trade activity was concentrated in Bucharest, in the first half of the year, with operations worth 13.9 billion euros, according to an analysis by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Municipality Bucharest (CCIB), which is based on the information of the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
According to the cited source, after the Capital, in the first quarter of 2024, Timiş county was located – with a total share of 8.1% of international trade, followed by Ilfov – with 7.7%, Argeş (6.4%) and Brasov (4.2%).
In terms of exports, during the analyzed period, the firms and companies from Bucharest delivered goods outside the country’s borders, worth 4.4 billion euros, equivalent to 19.1% of Romania’s exports. In this segment, the capital was followed by the counties: Timiş – with a share of 9.8%, Argeş (8.3%), Braşov (5.2%), Ilfov (4.8%), Dolj (4, 7%), Arad (4.3%), Alba (4.1%), Prahova (3.8%) and Sibiu (3.4%). Overall, the share of these ten counties in Romania’s export was 67.5%, while the remaining 32 accounted for only 32.5%.
According to the CCIB analysis, the main groups of goods exported by the companies with their headquarters in Bucharest were: machines and appliances, electrical equipment and their parts (27.3%), plant products (18.1%), mineral products ( 13.1%), products of the chemical industry (8.3%), food products, beverages, alcoholic liquids and vinegar, tobacco and tobacco substitutes (5.5%), vehicles and auxiliary transport equipment (4.8%) , base metals and articles thereof (4%), instruments and optical equipment (3.2%), textile materials and articles thereof (3%), weapons and ammunition, parts and accessories thereof (2.2%). All these groups of goods have a share of 86.8% of the export of Bucharest companies, it is specified in the specialized analysis.
Regarding imports, firms and companies with their headquarters in the Municipality of Bucharest reported a value of 9.5 billion euros (32% share of Romania’s imports between January 1 and March 31, 2024). In this regard, the Capital, which holds almost a third of the total import, was followed in the top by the counties: Ilfov – with 9.9%, Timiş (6.8%), Prahova (5.2%), Argeş (4, 9%), Cluj (3.8%), Brasov (3.4%), Arad (2.7%), Alba (2.7%) and Mures (2.7%).
On a general level, the share of the ten counties in Romania’s import was 74.1%, while the remaining 32 totaled 25.9%. As for the structure of the goods imported by the companies with their headquarters in Bucharest, the main six groups that can be found in the statistics of the analyzed period were: machines and devices, electrical equipment and their parts (22.9%), products of the chemical industry (19, 8%), vehicles, aircraft, vessels and transport equipment (7.9%), foodstuffs, beverages, alcoholic liquids and vinegar, tobacco (7.4%), mineral products (7.3%), base metals and articles from these (6.5%), which had a share of 71.8% of the import of Bucharest companies.