Romania: Direct Versus Indirect Trade -- Romania's Hidden Market for US Ag Exports

The U.S. Census Bureau's bulk, intermediate, and consumer-oriented (BICO) export data tracks U.S. food and agricultural trade shipped directly to Romania. However, it does not measure the substantial levels of the U.S. agricultural trade to Romania routed through Western European ports of entry. According to BICO, U.S. suppliers shipped $72 million of U.S. food and agriculture to Romania in 2019. However, according to Romania’s National Institute of Statistics (NIS), which measures trade by country of origin and therefore reflects both direct and indirect trade, Romania sourced upwards of $163.2 million of U.S. food and agriculture in 2019. FAS Bucharest encourages USDA cooperators and other U.S. food and agricultural exporters and stakeholders to look beyond BICO data and review different data sources when considering resource allocation and market development strategies for Romania.

Romania: Direct Versus Indirect Trade -- Romania's Hidden Market for US Ag Exports