December 15 (SeeNews) - Moldova's economic output rose by an annual 3.4% in real adjusted terms in the third quarter of 2023, driven by growth in the agriculture forestry and fishing as well as information and communication sectors, the statistical office said on Friday.
In unadjusted terms, Moldova's economy expanded by 2.6% year-on-year in the third quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
Moldova's gross domestic product (GDP) totalled 80.5 billion lei ($4.5 billion/4.1 billion euro) at current prices in the period under review.
Compared to the previous quarter, Moldova's GDP inched down by a seasonally-adjusted 0.8% in July-September.
The gross value added in the economy rose by a real 4.8% year-on-year in the third quarter, accounting for 4.1 percentage points (pp) of the country's unadjusted GDP growth rate. Agriculture, forestry and fishing spearheaded GDP growth, adding 5.7 pp, while information and communication added 0.7 pp. Health and social insurance along with real estate activities contributed 0.5 pp each, while accommodation and catering activities added 0.4 pp.
Net exports rose by 6.4% year-on-year in the third quarter, accounting for 8.9 pp in Moldova's GDP growth. This development was mainly driven by an annual decrease of 9.8% in the volume of imports.
Gross fixed capital formation and the household final consumption expenditure were both negative contributors to Moldova's GDP in the third quarter, taking away 4.7 pp and 1 pp, respectively.
In the first nine months of 2023, Moldova's GDP totalled 214.4 billion lei, up by a real unadjusted 2.6% year-on-year.
The country's economy contracted by 5.9% in real terms in 2022, compared to 13.9% growth in the previous year. The 2023 budget targets economic growth of 2%.
(1 euro =19.5338 Moldovan lei)