THE ROMANIAN INTERNATIONAL AGRI-FOOD TRADE IN THE TRANSITION PERIOD (1990-2000) – A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The Romanian international trade saw major transformations after 1990. The period 1990-2000 had as main features the major reforms implemented in the whole economy; the present paper is analyzing the particular reforms in the Romanian international agri food trade, its main evolutions in passing from completely state-controlled operations during the centrally-planned era to a gradually liberalized trade during the transition period to the market economy. The analysis is focusing on the’90-s, and looks in detail at the major changes in the trade policy, as well as the in the evolution of the trade agreements of the country, and in the way they influenced the agri-food exports, imports and trade balance. The analysis is completed by looking at the trade flows composition by the products’ processing degree. The results show a continuous development in the exchange flows, their increasing orientation to the EU, but also a deterioration of the ratio between the processed products and the agricultural commodities, indicating a rather low competitiveness in the international markets.