MOLDOVAN GDP TO GROW 3.5% IN 2018 – INCE

Experts of the National Institute of Economic Research (INCE) of the Moldovan Academy of Sciences maintain that the Moldovan GDP will grow 3.5% and will reach 160.5 billion lei in nominal terms in 2018.

INCE Director Alexandru Stratan said at the Tuesday’s presentation of the new “Moldovan Economy Trends” report that the key factors that will contribute to the growth will be: the continuation of the IMF program and the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, as well as strengthening of the public-private partnership and, as a result, the improvement of business climate and the creation of comfortable conditions for doing business in the republic.

“The main obstacle for economy development remains unchanged for already several years: tensioned and unstable political situation, which in the end makes Moldova fairly unattractive”, he said.

According to the expert, the growth of agricultural production will slow down in 2018, accounting for 4.1% against 8.6% in the previous year, but the industrial production will grow 5.8% against 3.4% in 2017.

“The external trade will demonstrate modest results – the growth of exports will account for 8.9% against 18.6% in 2017, while imports – 8.6% against 20.2%”, Stratan said.

He added that the trend of raising the EU share in the total volume of exports (65.8% in 2017) will preserve in future, while the CIS share will fall, but the economic relations with Russia will still remain strategically important for Moldovan economy development.