Fuel import increased by 70% in the first quarter of the year, amid the unfavorable weather conditions in the winter and revisions at the refineries in Romania.

In the first three months of the year, Romania imported 23.853 tons of gasoline and 402.138 tons of diesel, according to data provided by the National Institute for Statistics. Compared to the first three months of last year, gasoline imports fell by 8% (from 25.992 last year), but diesel imports, the most used fuel in Romania, increased by 10%, from the corresponding volume of 365.122 tons, related to the first three months of 2016, according to e-nergia.ro.

In terms of import value, they were 217 million euros in the first three months, up by 70% from the same figure last year (116 million euros). At the same time with an increase in fuel imports, there was a decline in exports over the same period, negative for a country whose operational refining capacity is almost double that of domestic consumption. In the first three months of the year, gasoline exports were only 385.889 tons, a third lower than the 576.000 tons, corresponding to the first three months of the previous year. In diesel, the situation is even worse: exports totaled only 279.189 tonnes, 42% less than the over 482.000 tonnes exported in the first three months of 2016.

Overall, in terms of volume, gasoline and diesel exports fell by over 37% to around 665.000 tonnes, from more than one million tonnes in the previous year. Valorically, exports amounted at 325,8 million euros, 4.6% less.