Mircea Baciu
– Mr. Baciu, a few months ago you put forward the idea that Moldova should seriously explore the opportunities offered by international online trading platforms in terms of increasing exports. What prompted you to do this?
M.B.: – In recent years, the topic of international online platforms has been actively discussed in Moldova, but usually in the context of domestic market protection and competition in the local retail trade.
And it has almost never been mentioned that international online platforms can become a channel through which Moldovan producers can enter foreign markets.
In most European countries, cross-border e-commerce policies combine import regulation with active support for the export presence of national companies on world markets.
In proposing the above-mentioned idea, I considered it crucial that the emerging regulation of cross-border trade should take into account not only the protection of the domestic market, but also the stimulation of e-export opportunities.
In a number of Central and Eastern European countries, small businesses have become a rapidly growing segment of cross-border e-commerce. For Moldova, this segment remains underdeveloped, although small exports can be one of the fastest instruments for expanding the export base and increasing foreign exchange earnings.
– What goods and products can be exported in this way?
M.B.: – Moldova has competitive niches for this format of trade – food and wine, textiles, wood products, handicrafts and natural products, souvenirs, food products and others.
In European e-commerce, these are the categories that are constantly in demand as local and authentic brands with a clearly defined origin “Made in Moldova!”.
At the same time, the scale of small exports from Moldova remains limited and does not correspond to the country’s production potential. Small and medium-sized enterprises account for more than 98% of companies in the Moldovan economy and provide about 60% of jobs. However, their share in exports remains well below potential.
The domestic e-commerce market is already established: according to industry experts, e-commerce accounts for about 8-10% of retail sales. In addition, a significant part of online purchases is made on foreign websites.
This means that currently cross-border digital commerce in Moldova functions mainly for imports – Temu, Amazon, Emag, etc., but not for exports.
– In general, what prevents small exporters from carrying out their activities?
M.B.: – In the case of small enterprises, exports are still associated with high institutional and logistical barriers:
– Complex and lengthy customs procedures;
– high cost of international delivery of small shipments (may require compensation from the government as a means of export development and trade balance equalization);
– lack of consolidation logistics;
– complicated and lengthy VAT refund procedures;
– lack of systemic support for access to the markets of China and Europe.
As a result, a significant part of producers do not export directly or work through intermediaries, losing a significant part of value added and export margin.
– What countries’ experience should Moldova adopt to boost the activity of small exporters?
M.B.: – Personally, I consider the experience accumulated in this respect by Poland and the Baltic States to be good. Over the last 10-15 years, these countries have significantly expanded their export base at the expense of small enterprises integrated into cross-border e-commerce.
This was facilitated by specific and comprehensive state support measures:
– simplified customs regime for e-commerce shipments;
– programs to integrate small businesses into international markets;
– preferential logistics tariffs for small shipments;
– a unified digital platform for exporters.
In Moldova, the small producer is still virtually alone with international trade, which sharply limits the scale of exports.
The proposed support measures in the form of various subsidies and partial coverage of the costs of accessing international markets are selective and unsystematic. This may work in individual cases, but it does not have the necessary effect on the entire economy and all potential exporters, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.
– What solutions are needed?
M.B.: – The development of small exports requires institutional and logistical infrastructure rather than direct subsidies.
First, full-fledged export centers need to be established to consolidate and ship small shipments of goods, which would provide storage, packaging, export customs clearance, and returns processing.
Second, a simplified customs regime should be introduced for e-commerce shipments with digital declaration and expedited release of goods.
Third, there is a need for a national program to integrate small businesses into international markets, including training, standardization and certification of packaging.
In this matter, assistance could be sought from China, ensuring institutional cooperation with Chinese digital platforms and relevant structures in that country. This would facilitate the integration of small Moldovan producers into the largest cross-border e-commerce ecosystems.
Fourth, special international shipping tariffs should be established for small exporters based on agreements with logistics operators.
In this context, it is advisable to consider the possibility of introducing a mechanism of partial compensation of logistics costs at the expense of state or donor export support programs. At the same time, it should be applied without discrimination to all deliveries of small exporters.
– What conclusions, in your opinion, should be drawn now with regard to the opportunities offered by international online trading platforms to stimulate exports?
M.B.: – The first conclusion is that objectively Moldova cannot compete on the scale of production, but it can compete on the diversity and quality of products of small producers.
The second conclusion is that global trade is becoming digital and distributed, and countries that have created a small cross-border export infrastructure gain thousands of new exporters and a rapidly expanding export base. The experience of Poland and the Baltic States shows that such growth is possible for economies of comparable size and structure.
The third conclusion is that the formation of an electronic export system for small businesses can be one of the most realistic and fastest tools for expanding the export base, increasing foreign exchange earnings and structural diversification of the Moldovan economy.
The conclusions are obvious, as are the necessary solutions. We just need to act in order not to miss a real opportunity to stimulate exports.
