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Moldova Economy 1996
Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major
mineral deposits. As a result, Moldova's economy is primarily based on
agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must
import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, and energy
shortages have contributed to sharp production declines since the breakup of
the Soviet Union in 1991. The Moldovan government is making steady progress
on an ambitious economic reform agenda, and the IMF has called Moldova a
model for the region. As part of its reform efforts, Chisinau has introduced
a stable currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to
state enterprises and backed their steady privatization, removed export
controls, and freed interest rates. Chisinau appears strongly committed to
continuing these reforms in 1995. Meanwhile, privatization of medium and
large enterprises got underway in mid-1994 and is expected to pick up speed
in 1995. To improve its precarious energy situation, Chisinau reached an
agreement with Moscow in December 1994 on gas deliveries for 1995. Gazprom,
Russia's national gas company, has agreed to reduce prices for natural gas
deliveries to Moldova from the world market price of $80/thousand cubic
meters (tcm) to $58/tcm in return for part ownership of the Moldovan
pipeline system.
GDP - purchasing power parity - $11.9 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated
from World Bank estimate for 1992)
-
National product real growth rate:
-
National product per capita:
-
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of
underemployed workers)
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
budget deficit for 1993 approximately 6% of GDP
$144 million to outside the FSU countries (1994); over 70% of exports go to
FSU countries
foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear, machinery, chemicals
(1991)
Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Germany
$174 million from outside the FSU countries (1994); over 70% of imports are
from FSU countries
oil, gas, coal, steel, machinery, foodstuffs, automobiles, and other
consumer durables
Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Romania, Germany
$300 million (as of 11 December 1994)
growth rate -30% (1994 est.)
key products are canned food, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment,
refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, refined sugar,
vegetable oil, shoes, textiles
accounts for about 40% of GDP; Moldova's principal economic activity;
products are vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed,
meat, milk, tobacco
illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis; mostly for CIS consumption;
transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
joint EC-US loan (1993), $127 million; IMF STF credit (1993), $64 million;
IMF stand-by loan (1993), $72 million; US commitments (1992-93), $61 million
in humanitarian aid, $11 million in technical assistance; World Bank loan
(1993), $60 million; Russia (1993), 50 billion ruble credit; Romania (1993),
20 billion lei credit
the leu (plural lei) was introduced in late 1993
lei per US$1 - 4.277 (22 December 1994)
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