Moldova's foreign trade deficit grows nearly 1.4-fold in H1

CHISINAU. Aug 15 (Interfax) - Moldova's foreign trade deficit reached $3.52 billion in January-June 2025, up 38.7% compared to the first half of last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

In particular, the merchandise trade deficit with EU countries amounted to $1.75 billion, up 1.8-fold, while with countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) it reached $43.2 million, up 1.6-fold.

Goods exports decreased 10.1% to $1.6 billion, including 9.8% to $1.23 billion for Moldovan-origin goods and 10.8% to $375 million for re-exports of foreign goods. Shipments to EU countries fell 11.3% to $1.03 billion, while to CIS countries they declined 23.9% to $107.1 million.

Goods imports grew 18.6% to $5.12 billion. This included $2.78 billion from EU countries (up 31.7%) and $150.3 million from CIS countries (down 9.9%).

The export-import coverage ratio in January-June stood at 31.3%, down 10 percentage points compared to the same period in 2024.

Moldova's foreign trade deficit totaled $5.51 billion in 2024, up 19.1%, after declining 5.4% in 2023.