Moldovan independent analytical centre says one of essential factors of economic growth facilitated access to European market

Chisinau, 19 October /MOLDPRES/ - One of the essential factors which in the last years has allowed the economy to grow and diversify is the facilitated access to the European market, according to the Country State Report 2018, presented by the Expert-Grup Independent Analytical Centre, in partnership with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Moldova, today. The report was launched at the sixth issue of the international conference MACRO 2018.  

„Four years after the signing of the Association Agreement, statistics data shows that the expansion of exports with European destination has practically fully compensated the losses borne after the establishment of the Russian embargo and the starting of the conflict in Ukraine,” the executive director of Expert-Grup, Adrian Lupusor, said at the conference. He noted that, moreover, the EU’s trade balance had improved and exports had diversified, especially the agro-food ones.   

At the same time, experts find out that the net impact of the free trade agreement is still pretty poor “against its potential. Moldovan producers have still much to do, in order to turn to good account the commercial opportunities provided by the European market.”

One of the reasons for which the native producers cannot turn to good account the opportunities offered by the Agreement is the lack of investments. On the last 15 years, the insufficiency of investments has significantly influenced the development of the new production capacities and, as a result, the latter limited the extension and diversification of exports. The chronic deficit of investment resources also resulted from the banks’ incapacity to fully exercise their duty of accumulating resources and their allocation for financing productive investments, the Country State Report reads.    

Experts propose as solutions the fundamental revision of the model of Moldova’s economic growth through the extension and diversification of exports on the way of modernization of the quality infrastructure and implementing EU security and quality standards. Experts consider that it is important that the associations of producers more actively get involved in the promotion of the free trade agreement and the government should renegotiate the conditions of access for Moldovan agro-food products which face much more limitative barriers on the EU market, such as the tariff contingents for some products.  

Experts note that it is important that the commercial relation with Russia be freed from any political hidden motive and despite risks, decision-makers should continue efforts to negotiate additional free trade agreements with China, Switzerland, Canada, Israel and some countries of the Middle East.   

According to the National Statistics Bureau, after the first eight months of 2018, the share of Moldova’s exports on the European Union’s market reached 69.3 per cent against 64.1 per cent on the same period of the year before. The supplies of goods from Moldova to the EU market increased by 32.6 per cent in January- August this year, amounting to 1.2 billion dollars.   

On the other hand, the exports of goods to the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States decreased by 6.7 per cent and their share in Moldova’s exports diminished to 15.8 per cent in the first eight months of 2018, against 20.9 per cent in January-August 2017.  

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor A. Raileanu)