How many dairy cows have disappeared in Romania in the last couple of years?
According to data published in the National Strategic Plan (NSP), from 2010 to 2020, both dairy cow herds and total raw milk production in Romania decreased by 3.3% and 18.4% respectively, reads the news on Agrointeligenta.
"Compared to 2015, when 1,311,000 heads of dairy cows were recorded, in 2020 dairy cow herds decreased to 1,2300,000 head, the difference of 81,000 head, representing a reduction of 6.17% leading to a decrease in raw milk production by 6.47%, from 42,663,000 hl in 2015, to 39,901,000 hl in 2020," the cited data show.
Milk consumption per capita on the rise
The same document also shows that annual milk consumption per capita has increased by 9.19% from 237 litres/capita to 259 litres/capita between 2015 and 2020, while total annual milk production has decreased by 7.54% over the same period.
By granting subsidies as of 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture aims to maintain dairy cattle breeding activity at a certain level, taking into account the following:
- lack of alternative employment in rural areas;
- the risk of abandonment of this activity, failure to meet domestic consumption needs and thus jeopardising food security;
- the need to supply local markets with milk and milk products in order to use existing production capacities, some of which are currently closed.
Although Romania sees itself as a large livestock-farming country, milk products are among the most imported foodstuffs. For cream, for example, the ratio of domestic production to imports is 1 to 4. For every tonne of cream produced domestically, Romania brings in another four tonnes from abroad to cover consumption.
"The solution is to develop the production and processing segment", said recently Tudorel Andrei, president of the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
Source: Agrointel.ro