Last year, Romanian-French relations reached a profitable record level of just under 11 billion euros. We are seeing an increase in bilateral trade between the two countries by almost a quarter. Romanian exports to France, in particular, had a significant jump year-on-year, from 4.5 to 5.8 billion euros.

In addition, last year Romania’s total turnover increased by more than 26% to 277.4 billion euros. The value of exports of goods from Romania has increased 26-fold since 1991, as this interactive data analysis shows.

“Romania remains an attractive place for investment,” says Julien Munch, the new president of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania. “Its assets are the quality of the workforce, geopolitical orientation, personal security and security of property,” the Frenchman also says about Romania in an interview he gave us in writing in the context of the Romanian-French business forum held at the beginning July in Bucharest. The forum is one of the biggest business events in our country and brought together the biggest French names working in Romania.

What does the modern portrait of Franco-Romanian business look like:

– France is the third investor in Romania (after Germany and Austria), the fourth customer and the ninth largest supplier.

– In 2022, France imported Romanian goods worth €5.7 billion* and exported €4.9 billion to Romania. Ten years ago, the figures looked like this: France imported 2.8 billion euros from Romania and exported 3 billion.

– French investments represent almost 10% of total foreign direct investment in Romania (around 100 billion euros in 2021).

– In 2022, transport accounted for 29% of Franco-Romanian trade.

– One third of exports: machinery, machinery and equipment.

– The majority of French investments in industry (37%).

– More than 4,000 companies with the majority of French capital in Romania, which have a turnover equivalent to 8% of the country’s GDP.

– French investments are estimated to have created 125,000 jobs in Romania.

Data source: Julien Munch, for Panorama; Publications of CCIFER, Embassy of France in Romania

(*figures differ slightly from those reported by the INS, whose calculation methodology includes goods, not services)

“France is a privileged economic partner,” says the president of CCIFER, who repeatedly points out that “prosperity is impossible in isolation,” responding, among other things, to the new government’s discussion of so-called “economic patriotism.”

Julien Munch is a man who holds several important positions in business in Romania. He is also the CEO of Carrefour Romania.

However, he is careful to mix these two roles, so the conversation with Panorama took place from his position as a representative of the French business environment in Romania, without touching on topics related to retail trade that would intersect with the activities and interests of the company that manages it.

Read the article on Panorama.ro

Photo source: DreamsTime / Bogdanel Vacarciuc