Field: Economic development and infrastructure

Subfield: Industry and entrepreneurship

Details:

The volume of industrial production is insufficient to characterize a nation’s industrialization process. What this industry produces is also important. Romanian industry has become increasingly dependent on a limited number of sectors, with low value added. In 2015 Romanian industry was dominated by four sectors, accounting for 57% of industry: the food industry (22% of total industry, on the decrease in the last 20 years), automotive industry (17% of total industry, on the increase), metal industry (10%, on the increase), and rubber and plastics industry (8%, on the increase). We can notice important changes in the industrial structure: the textile industry has lost its importance in favour of the automotive industry, the food industry has dropped significantly, petroleum and coal products have been replaced by rubber and plastics. These changes are significant for the way Romanian industry develops: a less sophisticated lohn (textiles) has been substituted by a more sophisticated one (vehicles), the decreasing food industry can be explained by increased dependence on food imports, and industrial sectors with low value added (metal industry, petroleum and coal products) are maintained.