A landlocked Eastern European nation surrounded by Ukraine and Romania, the Republic of Moldova shipped US$4.05 billion worth of exported goods around the globe in 2023.

That dollar amount results from a 45.7% increase compared to $2.8 billion five years earlier starting in 2019.

Year over year, the overall value of Moldovan export fell by -6.5% starting from 4.33 billion starting from 2022.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, Moldova uses the Moldovan leu which depreciated by -3.4% against the US dollar since 2019 but increased by 3.9% from 2022 to 2023. The weaker Moldovan currency compared to 2022 made Moldova’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for international buyers.

The 5 biggest export products from Moldova are insulated wire and cable, processed petroleum oils, sunflower, safflower or cotton-seed oil, wheat and corn. Those 5 major products represent almost two-fifths (38.4%) of the overall value for Moldovan exports during 2023.

Moldova’s Key Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 83.1% of products exported from Moldova was bought by importers in: Romania (35.1% of the Moldovan total), Ukraine (14.7%), Italy (6.4%), Germany (5.5%), Czech Republic (4%), Russia (3.6%), Türkiye (3.5%), Poland (3.3%), Bulgaria (2.13%), Belarus (2.08%), United States of America (1.5%) and Spain (1.4%).

From a continental perspective, 88.6% of Moldova’s exports by value was delivered to European countries while 8.5% was sold to importers located in Asia. Moldova shipped another 1.8% worth of goods to North America.

Tinier percentages went to buyers in Africa (1%), Latin America (0.05%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.04%) led by Australia, Tuvalu, Palau and New Zealand.

Given Moldova’s population of 2.5 million people, its total $4.05 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $1,600 for every resident in the Eastern European country. That dollar metric lags the average $1,700 per person one year earlier during 2022.

Moldova’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Moldovan global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Moldova.

1. Electrical machinery, equipment: US$632.2 million (15.6% of total exports)
2. Mineral fuels including oil: $455.4 million (11.2%)
3. Cereals: $395.8 million (9.8%)
4. Oil seeds: $284 million (7%)
5. Fruits, nuts: $266.1 million (6.6%)
6. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $248.3 million (6.1%)
7. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $232.5 million (5.7%)
8. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $187.7 million (4.6%)
9. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $155 million (3.8%)
10. Glass: $110.4 million (2.7%)

Moldova’s top 10 exports generated almost three-quarters (73.3%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Electrical machinery and equipment represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 18.1% from 2022 to 2023.

In second place for improving export sales was fruits and nuts: via a 7.6% advance.

Moldova’s shipments of unknitted and non-crocheted clothing or accessories posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 4%.

The leading decliner among Moldova’s top 10 export categories was animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes, pulled down by a -34% year-over-year drop.

The above listing is at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.

Drilling down to the more granular four-digit HTS codes, insulated wire or cable represent Moldova’s most valuable exported product at 13.5% of the country’s total. In second place was processed petroleum oils (9.8%) trailed by sunflower/safflower/cotton-seed oil (6%), wheat (5.5%), corn (3.6%), sunflower seeds (3.4%), wine (also 3.4%), colza seeds (2.9%), seats excluding barber and dentist chairs (2.6%), then glass containers including bottles and jars (2%).

Products Generating Moldova’s Largest Trade Surpluses

The following types of Moldovan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Cereals: US$356.2 million (Up by 3.2% since 2022)
2. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $212.3 million (Down by -28.5%)
3. Oil seeds: $194.5 million (Down by -22.8%)
4. Fruits, nuts: $166.5 million (Up by 6%)
5. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $137.5 million (Down by -3.1%)
6. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $106.4 million (Down by -0.1%)
7. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $65.9 million (Down by -2.6%)
8. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $52.5 million (Up by 10.2%)
9. Glass: $39.4 million (Up by 6.9%)
10. Food industry waste, animal fodder: $5.4 million (Reducing a -$3.2 million deficit)

Moldova has highly positive net exports in the international trade of corn and wheat. In turn, these cashflows indicate Moldova’s strong competitive advantages under the cereals product category.

Products Causing Moldova’s Worst Trade Deficits

Overall Moldova incurred a -US$4.6 billion product trade deficit for 2023, falling by -5.4% from -$4.9 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.

Below are exports from Moldova that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Moldova’s goods trail Moldovan importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.5 billion (Down by -24.2% since 2022)
2. Vehicles: -$604.1 million (Up by 13.8%)
3. Machinery including computers: -$525.6 million (Down by -11.3%)
4. Plastics, plastic articles: -$276.2 million (Down by -8.9%)
5. Pharmaceuticals: -$255.9 million (Up by 10.5%)
6. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$244.1 million (Up by 10.7%)
7. Fertilizers: -$133.9 million (Down by -3.5%)
8. Wood: -$124.7 million (Down by -4.5%)
9. Other chemical goods: -$122.5 million (Down by -12%)
10. Iron, steel: -$119 million (Down by -6.4%)

Moldova has negative net exports and therefore international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related product category, notably for refined petroleum oils, petroleum gases, electrical energy, then petroleum coal and coke.

Moldovan Export-Related Businesses

Not one Moldovan corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

According to listings on leading trade portal Alibaba.com, the following exporters are examples of leading Moldovan companies. Shown within brackets is the primary products for each business.

• Argotour Trading Group (live sheep, cattle)
• Biz-Agro SRL (corn, wheat, barley, sunflower seeds)
• Colombus SRL (wafers, biscuits)
• G.T Botezatu (plums, grapes)
• Lion-Gri SRL (alcoholic beverages)
• Nuts Export SRL (walnuts)

Wikipedia also lists exports-related companies from Moldova. Selected examples are shown below.

• Acorex (wine)
• Aerotrans Cargo (cargo airliner)
• Ascom Group (oil, gas)
• Moldova Steel Works (steel, steel products)
• Romănești (wine)
• Tiraspoltransgas (gas)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Moldova’s total exported goods represent 9.7% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($41.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 9.7% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 10.9% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Moldova’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Moldova’s unemployment rate averaged 4.457% for 2023, down from 4.6% in 2022 per International Monetary Fund statistics.

Moldova’s capital city is Chisinau.

See also Romania’s Top Trading Partners, Turkey’s Top Trading Partners, Ukraine’s Top Trading Partners and Wheat Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Moldova. Accessed on September 20, 2024

Forbes 2023 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 20, 2024

International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on September 20, 2024

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 20, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 20, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 20, 2024

Pixabay, Moldova’s national flag. Accessed on September 20, 2024

Wikipedia, Companies of Moldova. Accessed on September 20, 2024

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 20, 2024

Wikipedia, Moldova. Accessed on September 20, 2024

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 20, 2024