“Agriculture is so profitable right now that it got everybody interested. It remains to be seen where prices go in the future,” Gheorghita said.
Everybody in the agribusiness sector is now taking out loans and making investments in the hope that nothing will happen to prices over the next ten years, he added.
Stefan Gheorghita is also in charge of Caussade Semences’ operations in Bulgaria, Hungary and the Republic of Moldova.
The interest of farmers in expansion and acquisitions is also showing in the business of certified seed vendors, such as French-held Caussade is.
The top four companies on this market posted up to 40% growth in revenue because of rising demand for “brand-name” seeds from Romanian farmers last year.
Although not a top three competitor among certified seeds producers in Romania (Pioneer, Monsanto and Syngenta lead the ranking), the French-held producer is gaining ground fast.
The company ended 2011 with EUR17 million in revenues, more than double the 2010 level. Profit increased at the same rate, reaching EUR1.3 million.
Caussade Semences Romania official said he expects to end this year with EUR35 million in revenue, because of the higher sales volumes. The company relies on the increase in the trade of grain and barley seeds for growth, as well as on the trade in peas and soy seeds, which major players do not see as important. The strategy is different from its rivals, which have focused on sunflower and corn seeds lately.
Caussade Semences Romania exported more than two thirds of the seeds produced in Romania, as a result of higher demand for certified seeds from the major farmers in the region.
“We export to Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Poland and Spain,” Gheorghita said.
The company produces the seeds it sells to both Romanian and foreign farmers in partnership with about 120 local farmers, who work 8,000 hectares of land.
The seeds are then processed in a facility that the company owns in Teleorman County, southern Romania, which it bought for EUR1.6 million and then invested EUR1.8 million in.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)