The Romanian economy last year posted 4.9% growth in real terms, as the Gross Domestic Product went up to 1,890,000 billion ROL (some 50.3 billion euros), according to data released by the National Statistics Institute (INS). The 4.9% growth exceeded the estimates of both foreign and domestic analysts, whereas the Government had forecast a 4.8% bounce.
The growth pace was due to higher added value in constructions (7 percent), services (5.2 percent), and industry (4.6 percent). The three sectors contributed 78.8 percent to the Gross Domestic Product formation.
Still, the industry saw a significantly weaker performance, not even close to the 7.2% growth anticipated by the industrial output evolution. On the other hand, agriculture posted 3% growth, after having made a negative contribution (-3.9%) to the Gross Domestic Product in 2002, which was blamed on bad weather.
Last year's growth was mainly fuelled by a 7.1 percent surge in consumption, which exceeded all expectations and was fed by a 49% non-government growth in real terms and a 24% raise of the average gross earnings. Consumption had only increased three percent in 2002.
Moreover, the gross fixed capital formation (investments) surged 9.2 percent.
The net exports of goods and services logged a deeper negative contribution to the Gross Domestic Product, as the imports' value in ROL (in current prices) went up 16.3 percent, whereas exports only managed an 11.1 percent growth.
In mid-2003, the Government had revised the growth targets downwards, from 5.2% to 4.8%, because the agricultural output had been jeopardised by bad weather.
The 4.9% growth pushes Romania closer to equivalent GDP level recorded in 1989, ending a fourteen-year period during which it had to make up for the ground lost in the '90s.
The growth target for 2004 is 5.5 percent, following four years of constant surges: 1.6% in 2000, 5.3% in 2001 and 4.9 percent in 2002 and 2003.
razvan.voican@zf.ro
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
