, has exacerbated Romania's high inflation rate and
eroded real wages. Agricultural production rebounded in 1993 from the
previous year's drought-reduced harvest; food supplies are adequate,
but expensive. Bucharest resisted pressure to devalue its currency
despite a $638 million trade deficit in the first half of 1993 and the
emergence of a black market for hard currency. Unable to support the
currency, the national bank, nonetheless, was forced to depreciate the
currency 65% over the course of the year. The return of winter
revealed that much of Romania's infrastructure had deteriorated over
the last four years due to reduced levels of public investment.
Residents of the capital reported frequent disruptions of heating and
water services.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $63.7 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
1% (1993)
National product per capita:
$2,700 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6% per month (March 1994)
Unemployment rate:
11% (March 1994)
Budget:
revenues:
$19 billion
expenditures:
$20 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.1 billion (1991
est.)
Exports:
$4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
metals and metal products 24%, mineral products 14%, textiles 10.7%,
electric machines and equipment 9.3%, transport materials 9.2% (1993)
partners:
EC 36.1%, developing countries 27.4%, East and Central Europe 14.9%,
EFTA 5.1%, Russia 5%, Japan 1.4%, US 1.3% (1993)
Imports:
$5.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
minerals 29%, machinery and equipment 17.2%, textiles 10%,
agricultural goods 9% (1993)
partners:
EC 45.8%, East and Central Europe 8.6%, developing countries 22.6%,
Russia 11%, EFTA 6.2%, US 5.0%, Japan 0.8% (1993)
External debt:
$4 billion (1993)
Industrial production:
growth rate -1% (1993 est.); accounts for 45% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
22,500,000 kW
production:
59 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
2,540 kWh (1992)
Industries:
mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, machine
building, food processing, petroleum production and refining
Agriculture:
accounts for 18% of GDP and 28% of labor force; major wheat and corn
producer; other products - sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes,
milk, eggs, meat, grapes
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin and Latin American
cocaine transiting the Ba