OREANDA-NEWS. April 18, 2011. Moldova's exports reached the highest level recorded over the last ten years - 161.2 million dollars in February 2011. This is by 33 per cent more than the figure registered before the 2008 crisis, according to data by the National Statistics Bureau (BNS) made public.

The Moldovan exports hiked by 19.8 per cent last February against the month before and by 49.5 per cent against February 2010.

These statistics confirm the forecasts by the Economics Ministry, which expects a higher growth pace of exports than the one of imports. During the first two months of 2010, the exports rose by 56.3 per cent against the same period of the year before and the imports by 42.4 per cent. In 2010, the growth pace of imports stood at 17.6 per cent, while the exports recorded a higher rise of 22.9 per cent.

"The forecast and all the undertaken actions prove that the maintenance of a higher pace of exports is possible and even predictable," Deputy Economics Minister Octavian Calmic has said.

Moldova's exports to the European Union's market went up by 54.1 per cent in January-February 2010; the exports to other countries rose 2.2-fold and to the Commonwealth of Independent States countries by 41.8 per cent. The highest imports' increase - 45.7 per cent - was recorded in the trade with the EU states, while the imports from the East rose by 38.9 per cent.

The Economics Ministry forecast a 14-per-cent rise in exports in 2011, up to 2 billion dollars, and a 13.5-per-cent increase in the imports, up to 4.375 billion dollars. The ministry also expects that the exports will go up by 14 per cent in 2011, 10 per cent in 2013 and 11 per cent in 2014; the imports are expected to rise by 10 per cent in 2012, 9 per cent in 2013 and 8 per cent in 2014.