Constantin said many farms in Romania are still very small and this keeps production costs high. The minister referred to the dairy industry where 90% of production comes from households with one or two animals.
Businessman Adrian Porumboiu, one of the country’s biggest farmland owners, said Romania does not have a real agriculture able to meet local consumption needs and has ended up importing cherries from South Africa and beans from Ethiopia.
“Romania currently imports vegetables, fruits and large amounts of flowers. Romania will have a real agriculture able to cover both local consumption needs and exports only when it manages to set up small farms of two to five hectares,” Porumboiu said recently.
According to Porumboiu, small farms can cover local needs for many categories of fruits and vegetables.