In 2016 in Romania, the value of mining and extraction from quarries grew by 23% compared to 2000, and the value added grew by 31, compared to 2000. During periods of increased production, national extraction cannot support internal consumption, which leads to imports. In fact, in recent years, imports of resources have generally been bigger than exports. Romania’s resource imports (volumes) in 2016 were higher than exports, as follows: imports of metal ores were 66% higher than exports, imports of non-metallic ores, 170% higher, and imports of fossil fuel, 150% higher. Exports of metallic ores were rather constant in the period 2000-2016, and the volume of non-metallic ores and fossil fuel fluctuated in the same period. The value of the specific processing, based on internal and imported resources, was constantly on the rise in this period, and so was the value added.

Compared to 1990, in Romania the forest area for wood supply dropped by 17.6% in 2015, which represents the highest decline in the region (in the EU, the area grew by approximately 2%, and in Hungary, for instance, it grew by 16.21%). This data explains the increase in the volume of national furniture production, 67.9% higher in 2017 than 2008.

The decrease in irrigated areas, the restructuring of the industrial sector and the demographic decline can be seen in the evolution of water resources used in economy (households included): in the period 200-2015, the use dropped in all countries in the region, with the figures for Romania plummeting (75.6%).

The subfield contains the following main indicators: exports and imports of metal ores, non-metallic minerals and fossil energy; extraction of metal ores, non-metallic minerals, and fossil energy; use of water in economy (including households); forest area.