“The state imports potatoes instead of capitalizing on domestic production. SC “Agroindustriala “Prejmer” SA Brașov has 9,000 tons in warehouses,” announced the newspaper “Adevărul” in November 1996.

Several publications later wrote about the fear that the Romanian state would not “knock out” the amount of 120 million dollars. The money was supposed to come from the export of wheat products, “so that the government would stimulate (…) by subsidizing producers at 30-40 dollars per ton.”

During the difficult years of the transition period, weighed down by the rain of privatization failures, Romania imported a lot and exported too little. The collection itself was also difficult as fuel subsidies for farmers were insufficient or delayed. Almost three decades later, the figures in the agricultural sector are both more pleasing and less pleasing than at the end of the last century.

We are one of the leading producers in the European Union for some crops such as maize or sunflower. On the other hand, we import more than we export, so our balance is negative, which, given the agrarian profile of the country, should not be.

This imbalance also translates into money that we as consumers also lose. A country that depends on agricultural imports is one that experiences food inflation, high seasonal prices for food items such as fruits and vegetables.

Read in full at Panorama.ro