Article

 

ROMANIA’S TRADE SECTOR UNDER TRANSFORMATION 
 
by
 
Christina Esanu, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute Chania
Konstadinos Mattas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
 
JEL classification : P210, P270, F140
 
Abstract
Seven years after the political upheavals of 1989, there are promising signs that reform is under way. After facing acute supply-side constraints, reduced levels of output and various shortages, certain sectors have started showing some dynamism. It is notorious, thus, that the Romanian trade pattern has notably changed under the impact of both domestic effort aiming at stabilisation, and external developments, the dissolution of the ex-Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) system of trade and payments being one of the most dramatic. This article presents a picture of Rumania’s economic relations pattern taking a brief look into the past. It also focuses on the profound changes occurred after 1989, which led to a growing role of the market institutions and of the private ownership. Finally, it identifies the reorientation of Rumania’s geographic trade among EU and Central and Eastern transforming economies.