Romanian retailers support organic agriculture sector
Romania exports most products grown by its organic agriculture sector abroad, as raw materials. The domestic market, meanwhile, is largely unstructured, shaped by irregular supply and demand that cannot easily be quantified. The relationship between the two is regulated by supermarkets, which have taken on the role of mediator and are becoming a significant factor on the market. Nevertheless, Romania’s organic agriculture sector has tremendous potential for growth.
After Romania joined the EU, its organic agriculture sector experienced a period of sustained expansion, which has picked up in the past few years. Between 2010 and 2014 alone, the surface used for organic agriculture increased by 60 percent, from 182,000 to around 290,000 hectares. Concurrently, the number of operators in the organic agriculture sector rose, from 3,155 in 2010 to 26,736 operators involved in the production, processing and sale of ecological products in 2012. Out of them, 26,390 are producers. In particular, the number of agents involved in processing increased from 48 in 2007 to 120 in 2014. Nevertheless, the share of local land cultivated with organic grains, vegetables and vine is still insignificant, standing at less than 1 percent of the total land used for agriculture.
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