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Moldova Table of Contents

Moldova

ECONOMY

General Character: Centralized. Government efforts to privatize and establish market economy slow.

National Material Product (NMP): In 1991 about US$13.1 billion; real growth rate -11.9 percent in 1992. Agriculture accounted for 42 percent of NMP in 1991, followed by industry with 38 percent, and other sectors with 24 percent.

Agriculture: State and collective farms transformed into joint-stock companies. Primary crops: fruits and berries, grains, grapes, tobacco, vegetables, sugar beets, potatoes, and sunflowers. Cattle, hogs, poultry, and lambs raised.

Industry: Food, machinery and metalworking, light industry, building materials, tractors, and wood products.

Minerals: No commercial mineral deposits.

Energy: Primary energy sources (minor hydroelectric and thermal power plants, and firewood) meet only 1 percent of domestic needs. Highly dependent on Russia for nearly all oil, gasoline, coal, and natural gas needed to fuel electric-power generation plants.

Foreign Trade: In 1994 nearly three-quarters of foreign trade with other members of Commonwealth of Independent States. Most imports and the vast majority of exports still directed toward territories of former Soviet Union. Imports: industrial raw materials, fossil fuels, and manufactured goods. Exports: wine and spirits, processed foods, and clothing and textiles.

Fiscal Year: Calendar year.

Currency and Exchange Rate: The leu (pl., lei), introduced in November 1993. In January 1995, 4.27 lei per US$1.

Data as of June 1995