Romania imported €3.3 billion worth of food in the first half of 2018, which is twice as much as in the same period in 2008, according to the Institutul Naţional de Statistică (INS).
Mediafax reported that agri-food exports in the first half of the year stood at €2.2 billion, leading a trade deficit of €1.08 billion.
According to the news portal, the year 2018 has been one of the best agricultural years for Romanian farmers, however producers have not been able to capitalise on this to the full extent.
Food retail sales were up 7% in the first half of the year, according to INS data.
Ageing Population
Eurostat data published in June found that Romania has the biggest number of farms in the European Union, however it also has one of the oldest demographics involved in the farming industry.
More than a quarter (25.7%) of farm managers in Romania are aged between 40 and 54 years old, while 22.3% are aged between 55 and 64 years old.
Romanian farms account for 3.4% of the total farm output of the European Union, the Eurostat study found.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
