Billions of Euros in losses for Romania due to lower price of wheat
Billions of Euros in losses for Romania due to
lower price of wheat
Although this year the cereal harvest is the
richest from the last 8 years, it brings down prices of grain, the GDP being
prejudiced by EUR2.5 billion. Compared to last year, the grain production
increased by almost 40 per cent, however, the price went down with around 30 –
40 per cent in 2013. The situation is caused by the purchase prices
charged by traders in Romania and that are much lower than those charged for
grain from countries like Italy, France or Germany. 'On June, 10, 2013 the
price per tone of wheat was EUR227 in Romania, while on September, 4 this year,
the price was EUR140. Meanwhile, the price per tone on the European market has
not gone below EUR180 – EUR 200. There's a similar situation with maize trading
whose price was EUR208 on June, 10 going down to only EUR119 by September, 9.
The purchase price was EUR171 abroad.', says Laurentiu Baciu, the president of
the Romanian Producers Associations League ( LAPAR).
The lower prices are due to the foreign
competitors in the area where the agriculture sector is heavily
subsidized. 'For instance, we cannot have a different approach, as those
from the Madrid Stock Exchange can have, because there are different markets,
normal ones, having clear rules for everyone. In our situation, we compete with
imposed rules we have not accepted. In other words, we compete with wheat and
maize produced in Russia and Ukraine, where the agriculture sector is heavily
subsidized.', says Daniel Botanoiu, secretary in Romania Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development.
