Prof. Univ Dr. Tudorel ANDREI (andreitudorel@yahoo.com)
Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Prof. Univ. Dr. Bogdan OANCEA (bogdan.oancea@faa.unibuc.ro)
University of Bucharest
Lect. Univ. Dr. Andreea MIRICA (miricaandreea89@gmail.com)
Bucharest University of Economic Studies
Irina-Elena STOICA, PhD. Candidate (e.irina.stoica@gmail.com)
The Bucharest University of Economic Studies
ABSTRACT
In this paper we make an analysis of Romania’s foreign trade with agri-food products between 2000 and 2020, dividing this period in two subperiods relative to the year of EU accession: pre-accession (2000-2006) and post-accession (2007-2020) periods. We identified the main effects of EU accession on the foreign
trade with agri-food products emphasizing that this event has been beneficial for Romania, as since 2007 there has been a significant increase in exports for most categories of agri-food products. After the accession to the EU, we noted a specialization of the country’s exports for several categories of agri-food products. Most exports consist of products with a low degree of processing, which have a low added value. Although, at least after 2007, these product categories recorded considerable surpluses, they were still insufficient to offset the accumulated deficits in most categories of agri-food products. Another important aspect in the activity of foreign trade with agri-food products that we analyzed was the competitiveness. Using the combined values of the TBI and LFI indicators, we obtained that the most competitive product categories are Cereals, Live Animals and Seeds. Romania’s accession to the EU has allowed the creation of favorable conditions for ensuring the competitiveness of several product categories, both on the European market, but also on the markets in Asia and Africa.
Keywords: foreign trade; agri-food products; EU accession; concentration of exports and imports