Romanian minister of finance concerned about agri-food trade deficit
Agriculture is creating a huge trade deficit, the food industry practically does not produce enough, according to the Romanian Finance Minister. The official stressed that support programs will be needed even over and above the European funds for the still unsolved problems in agriculture.
Minister of Finance: "The food industry practically does not produce enough"
Earlier this month, the government approved the 2025 State Budget Law, which includes also the amounts to support Romanian farmers this year. The Agriculture Ministry's budget, although 6% lower than the previous year, is estimated to cover the payment of all the commitments that the government has to transfer to agricultural producers.
After the approval of the 2025 budget, the Minister of Finance Tanczos Barna said that the Romanian food industry will need more support programs in the coming years, even beyond the European funds, because it is not producing enough. Moreover, the minister mentioned that this year there will be two or three new support schemes for livestock farming.
Tanczos Barna emphasized that he is aware of the problems in agriculture, and that as far as processing is concerned, the problem is far from being solved, as Romania still exports raw materials.
"We have several funding schemes in the relevant ministries. Agriculture is generating a very big deficit, the food industry practically does not produce enough. There we have the INVESTALIM program [for investments in food processing]. We also have two or three new schemes prepared by the Minister of agriculture - I spoke to him yesterday - for zootechnics, to increase domestic production and to increase domestic processing, because this is one of the biggest problems. Having spent a few good years in the Ministry of Agriculture, as Secretary of State, I really know what the problems were then. Unfortunately, they have not been solved. Live animals leave the country and the salami comes back, wheat leaves, bakery products or other processed products come back. That is one of the biggest stakes and, in the years to come,” said Minister Tanczos Barna.
Trade deficit exploded last year
According to recently released statistics, Romania’s trade balance deficit in 2024 has widened by 15.3% to almost €33.4 billion. In agri-food trade, the situation is even more serious, with 2024 registering as a new negative record, with the trade deficit being 50% higher than in 2023.
In 2024, Romania recorded imports of food and live animals worth more than €11.4 billion, 5.1% higher than the previous year's €10 billion, while Romania's exports of food and live animals fell by more than 14% to €6.5 billion. As a result, Romania recorded a trade deficit of €4.8 billion in agri-food in 2024, 50% higher than in 2023, when the trade deficit was €3.2 billion, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
In addition, imports of food and live animals accounted for 9.1% of total imports in 2024, up from 8.9% a year earlier. In contrast, only 7% of exports (down from 8.2% in 2023) were generated by agri-food.
The largest supplier of agri-food products to Romania in 2024 were EU member states, which delivered goods worth €9.7 billion, 9.3% more than in 2023. But exports to EU countries, worth €3.3 billion, fell by 6.7%. Romania's food imports have grown steadily since 2018, according to an Economica.net analysis based on INS data.
The previous biggest increase was recorded in 2022, at the height of the pandemic, when the value of imports of food and live animals exceeded €10 billion, up 24.5% from the previous year.
The Agriculture Minister believes that 30-40% of the food trade deficit comes from products which cannot be produced in Romania
Minister Florin Barbu admits that Romanians are spending billions of euros on imported food. "It's true, but we have to look at every chapter of the trade balance. If we are talking about agri-food products, then you need to go deeper and see where you have a deficit, and I can tell you that 30 percent or maybe 40 percent of the deficit in the trade balance comes from the trade of bananas, citrus fruits, which are agri-food products that cannot be produced in Romania," Minister Barbu told DC News. "In pet food, I think the deficit in the trade balance is somewhere around 3 billion [€600 million], that is, we import 3 billion lei worth of dog and cat food for pets, 90 percent is imported. I'll tell you one more thing: feed is made up of 60 percent cereals, which we export…" added the Minister of Agriculture.