External trade

The statistics on international trade in goods in the Republic of Moldova are compiled on the basis of administrative data sources (information obtained from customs declarations), in accordance with international standards (including European ones).

For exports and imports of goods, which are the subject of commercial transactions, the basic document for statistical evidence is the detailed customs declaration, which is drawn up at customs points, when the goods enter or leave the country.

The customs declarations are registered, collected, verified and stored by the Customs Service, in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Code, through the Integrated Information System "Asycuda Word", being submitted to the National Bureau of Statistics for verification, completion, validation, processing, rectification, finalization and dissemination in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Moldova “On official statistics”, no. 93 of May 26, 2017 and the Annual Program of Statistical Works, approved by the Government.

International trade statistics in goods in the Republic of Moldova are based on the recommendations of the UN Statistics Commission (International Merchandise Trade Statistics - Concepts and Definitions, 2010 Series M No. 52) and EUROSTAT legislation on international trade in goods with third countries (EXTRASTAT).

In the elaboration of the statistics on international trade in goods of the Republic of Moldova, the notions of customs procedure are used, which have a decisive significance in determining the trade system and the scope.

According to the Recommendations of the UN Statistical Commission in the Republic of Moldova, the general system of trade applies, according to which the statistics on international trade in goods include all material goods that are added to the stock of material resources of the country (imports) or subtracted from it (exports), by entering the territory of the country or by leaving it.

The territory of the Republic of Moldova considered for the statistics of international trade in goods refers to the economic territory of the country, in which the national customs legislation applies, but which does not coincide with the geographical territory of the country (except for the territory on the left side of the Nistru River and the Bender municipality).

Goods exported and imported by the Republic of Moldova are classified in accordance with the Combined Nomenclature of Goods, developed in accordance with the Harmonized Commodity Coding and Description System (HS-2022) and the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union (CN-2022). The Combined Nomenclature of Goods was approved by the Law of the Republic of Moldova no. 341 of 15.12.2022. The first six digits of the Combined Nomenclature goods codes correspond entirely to the Harmonized System (HS-2022), 6 digits plus the 7th and 8th digits correspond to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union, the 9th digit shows the national details for goods.

The Combined Nomenclature of Goods represents the multifunctional classification of goods circulating on the world market and includes the codes, names and descriptions of goods corresponding to the classification systems applied in international practice, introduced into or out of customs territory, and the amount of customs duty on such goods, used in order to carry out tariff and non-tariff measures to regulate the external economic activity of the state, to improve the statistical evidence and the exchange of information on the movement of goods abroad, in line with their international standards.

The Standard International Trade Classification (SITC Rev. 4) is used for economic and statistical analysis, the goods being classified according to the stage of processing. The data for goods in the International Classification of International Trade are obtained on the basis of tables between this Classification and the Combined Nomenclature of Goods.

The Nomenclature of Countries and Territories is used for countries, used for the statistics of the European Community's international trade in goods in its relations with both Member States and third countries (Geonomenclature).

Statistics on international trade in goods are disseminated monthly via the NBS website on the 45th day after the end of the reference period, including data such as exports, imports, overall trade balance, by country and by group of countries; exports and imports by main sections and chapters, according to the Combined Nomenclature of Goods and by groups of countries; exports and imports by main sections and chapters of the International Standard Trade Classification and by groups of countries; exports and imports by means of transport.

The monthly-published data are provisional, being subject to successive corrections by the Customs Service, as a result of changes in the customs declarations previously prepared.

The annual data are first published on a provisional basis (45 days after the end of the reference period) and are finalized within 180 days of the end of the reference year.

Unit value indices and physical volume indices for exported and imported goods

Within the indicators that characterize the evolution of the international trade in goods, an important role is played by the unit value indices and the physical volume indices of the exported and imported goods.

Unit value indices for exported and imported goods are calculated quarterly and annually, based on unit values (averages) expressed in lei (US dollars), according to the Paasche formula. The calculation basis used to calculate the unit value indices for exported and imported goods is the previous quarter (year).

The calculation of unit value indices is carried out on the basis of data obtained from customs declarations separately for each commodity (9 digits), group of goods (6, 4 and 2 digits) and total exports (imports), in accordance with the Combined Nomenclature of Goods. The goods selected for calculation (representative goods) include all homogeneous goods, with available information on quantity and cost, and present in both the reporting period and the base period. For the aggregation of unit value indices calculated at 9-digit level on various levels of the Combined Nomenclature of Goods and on total exports (imports), the value of goods from the current period is used as a weighting element.

At the same time, the physical volume indices for exported and imported goods are calculated quarterly (annually), according to the rule of interdependence, according to the Laspeyres formula, reporting the value indices to the unit value indices.