Foreign trade in the Transnistrian region dropped by one-third during the first five months of 2025. Exports plunged by half, while imports, primarily energy resources, increasingly come from “unidentified” origins, reports the IPN correspondent in the region.
The customs authority in Transnistria reported that foreign trade totaled $652.6 million from January to May 2025, marking a 36% decrease compared to the same period last year. Imports fell 28% to $522.6 million, and exports plunged 54% to just $130 million.
Almost all export categories suffered declines. Agri-food products — including cereals, oilseeds, vegetables, and fruits — remained the largest export category, accounting for nearly 39% of shipments. Metal exports, previously the second-largest category, shrank more than 3.5 times to $27.7 million. Notably, exporters shipped over $4 million worth of “components and parts for aircraft” in April and May 2025—a category that did not appear at all in 2024.
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Exports of energy products collapsed, falling from $76.6 million in 2024 to just $12.1 million in 2025, marking an 84% decrease. This sharp decline followed Gazprom’s cessation of gas deliveries on January 1, which forced the shutdown of the Moldavskaia GRES power plant — the region’s main electricity source, formerly exported to Moldova’s right bank. Consequently, electricity exports, once second only to metals by volume, vanished entirely from the statistics.
Export destinations shifted as well. In 2025, over 56.5% of exports went to Moldova’s right bank, approximately 14.6% to Romania, and only 7% to Russia.
Imports remained energy-focused, with energy products accounting for nearly half of all imports, approximately $275 million. However, their composition changed drastically: fuel imports from Russia fell fivefold, from over 91% of fuel imports in 2024 to $73.7 million in 2025. Meanwhile, local customs data show that more than 57% of gas imports lacked a declared country of origin.
Energy imports surged significantly in May alone, with nearly $191 million worth of resources arriving, almost 70% of total energy imports for the January–May period.
Agri-food products ranked second in imports with slight growth, followed by machinery, chemical products, and metals. The overall import profile reveals strong reliance on external suppliers. Official data attribute 16.9% of imports to Russia, 12.4% to Moldova, 7.6% to Ukraine, and 6.4% to Romania. However, goods with “unidentified origin” make up the largest share, exceeding 30%.