Radio România Internațional

Tag: milk

  • Lower prices for basic food stuffs

    Lower prices for basic food stuffs


    Romania is one of the European countries which has this
    year put a cap on some basic food stuffs. An emergency ordinance came into
    effect on August 1st to enforce a temporary measure of fighting
    price hikes in some farm and food products. The ordinance, which is valid for
    three months, is focusing on capping prices in several food products such as
    bread, milk, meat, vegetables, fruit with a view to boosting the population’s
    purchasing power.


    The discount, which had been previously discussed with
    processors, distributors and traders, was initially envisaged for 14 products.
    According to data released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
    Development, a survey on prices in supermarkets shows that significant price
    cuts are registered in several products such as, bread, edible oil, potatoes,
    cheese, maize, flour and sugar


    Agriculture minister Florin Barbu has recently said the ordinance on capping the
    trade markup will be extended. Barbu added that funding is presently available
    for projects both in the field of processing and the producers’ energy
    independence.


    Food and farm products
    in Romania have a VAT of 9%. Producers aren’t going to lose because the VAT on
    production expenses is higher, as there is going to be compensation the
    minister went on to say.


    The Ministry’s project
    points out to the government’s summer decision, which had a positive impact,
    explaining why an expansion is needed in the upcoming cold season, with higher household
    expenses and consumption during the winter holidays.


    According to Prime
    Minister Ciolacu, the cap on food prices contributed to bringing inflation
    under 9% last month. The new ordinance should be endorsed by the end of this
    month when the former provisions are going to expire.


    Seven food categories
    should be added on the list of those with a provisionally capped trade markup.


    With the expanded period
    of three months by the end of January 2024, of the 14 capped prices, other food
    products will be added such as pound cake, tomato sauce, some types of light
    sour cream, margarine and yeast. According to the authorities, the decision to
    add more subsidized products to the list has been made jointly with processors
    and retailers. Failure to comply with the provisions of the aforementioned
    ordinance is considered offence and punishable with fines between 100 thousand
    to 2 million RON.


    (bill)

  • April 12, 2023 UPDATE

    April 12, 2023 UPDATE

    Ordinance – The public expenditure reform bill should be ready next week, the Romanian Finance Minister Adrian Câciu announced. Until then, the Government members will present solutions to reduce expenses in their areas of responsibility. The Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă asked them not to plan salary cuts or give up investments. He also said that he wanted to improve the collection of taxes, not to increase taxes. All in all, the cuts should amount to 20 billion lei – approximately 4 billion Euros – by the end of the year. On Wednesday, the Romanian government approved an emergency decree that provides for simplification and digitalization measures for the management of European funds for the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy. Also on Wednesday, the program through which the Romanian state financially supports the refugees from Ukraine was modified: from now on they will receive an amount of money per person, for four consecutive months. After this period, they will be able to benefit from unemployment or enter the employment program, but before that, they must register with the employment offices. Those who host the refugees will no longer receive money for accommodation and food, as was the case until now.



    Aid – The Romanian government will grant a first installment of the financial aid intended to compensate for the losses caused by the conflict in Ukraine to cattle breeders and the dairy market. More than 21 million Euros will be granted starting on May 15, with a second tranche, worth 22 million Euros, to be disbursed in the second semester. Following Tuesday evening’s consultations between the government team led by the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and the representatives of dairy processors and big store chains, a price reduction for milk was agreed upon for the next six months. Also to support the consumption of milk produced in Romania, the Government wants to expand the “Hot Lunch in Schools” Program starting next year. Thus, pupils will receive milk every day at school, not just three times a week, as happens at present.



    Visit – The European Commission has identified 15 companies, from 11 countries, where the production capacity in the defense industry could be increased, and Romania is one of these countries, said the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton. On Wednesday, he visited two factories in Romanias defense industry. Breton previously met in Bucharest with the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, and, following talks, he stated that Romania would be able to play an even more important role in the defense industry, in the context of the war in neighboring Ukraine. Breton highlighted the fact that Romania increased the budget allocated to defense from 2% to 2.5% of the GDP, giving Romania as an example to follow. The discussions with Nicolae Ciucă also focused on cyber security, the European commissioner saying that the field should be competitive.



    Gymnastics — Romania’s mens team ranked 11th, on Tuesday, at the European Championships in Artistic Gymnastics in Antalya (Turkey), thus qualifying for the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. The Romanian athletes needed to be ranked among the first 13 teams to obtain qualification for the World Cup, a competition that will decide the teams that will participate in the 2024 Olympics. Italy won the gold medals, the silver went to Turkey, and Great Britain got the bronze.



    Motion — In Bucharest, Save Romania Union – USR and ‘Forţa Dreptei’ – Force of the Right party (both opposition) tabled a simple motion to the Chamber of Deputies against the Agriculture Minister, Petre Daea. The signatories claim that he is the weakest agriculture minister in the last 30 years, registering failure after failure and endangering both Romanias economy and development, as well as the countrys food security. They accuse him of willingly destroying Romanian agriculture. This is what people can see in the markets where the prices are the highest in the last 30 years, said the leader of the USR deputies, Ionuţ Moşteanu, who announced the initiative. The motion will be voted on next Wednesday.



    NATO – The Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr and the Chief of the General Staff General Daniel Petrescu, met on Wednesday with the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Robert Bauer. He is visiting Romania from April 11 to 14. According to a press release from the Romanian Defense Ministry, talks will focus on the security situation in the Black Sea region, the dynamics of the implementation of allied measures to deter and defend the Euro-Atlantic area, NATO operations and missions, as well as major training events this year. (LS)

  • Dairy producers, in danger

    Dairy producers, in danger

    An analysis by Ziarul Financiar publication in Romania says the country has the highest prices in Europe for fresh milk, a product bought regularly by most consumers. Specifically, one litre of fresh whole milk, which in Romania is sold in supermarkets for EUR 1.45, is EUR 1.19 in France and Belgium, little over 1 euro in Spain and only EUR 0.76 in Poland.



    According to the publication, a Romanian earns a monthly EUR 900, which is 2-3 times less than a French, Spanish or Belgian employee. Moreover, in Poland, the most developed economy in Central and Eastern Europe, where net salaries are EUR 1,100, the price for one litre of fresh milk is nearly one-half of the one in Romania.



    Romanians pay almost twice as much for this product than they did 2-3 years ago, and in 2021 Romanian farms had the lowest output in the past decade, 41.7 million hectolitres of milk. Imports, on the other hand, have surged. According to official data, imports of milk and sour cream exceeded EUR 100 mln in 2021, double the figure a decade ago.



    In this context, many Romanian cattle breeders say they risk closing down their businesses due to cheap milk imports and higher retail prices. According to the National Statistics Institute, prices for most dairy products in supermarkets have increased by over 30% over the past year, while butter prices are almost 45% higher.



    Nonetheless, according to the chair of the Mures Association of Cattle Breeders, Iacob Boca, on average the price of locally-sourced milk dropped by 30% over the past 2 months, and producers are rather desperate.



    Iacob Boca: “There are areas in Mureş County and elsewhere in the country where milk is sold by producers for EUR 0.28 per litre, EUR 0.30 or EUR 0.34 per litre. My fellow producers are desperate and insisted we should think about the next steps to take: do we sell our animals because we cannot survive in the market, do we keep working and covering our losses, or do we go to the agriculture minister, the PM or the president of the country and tell them we are forced to close down our businesses?”



    According to Mr. Boca, processors import milk, leaving local producers with hundreds of thousands of litres of milk unsold. As a result, Romanian breeders announce they will demand that national policy makers protect local dairy production by law, and resolved to submit a memorandum to the government to this end. Iacob Boca:



    Iacob Boca:”Cattle breeders have loans to repay, leasing agreements to cover, employees to pay, plus the spring expenditure for the new season. They are desperate and eventually they will sell milk even for 30 eurocents per litre, just to make ends meet for another month or two.”



    Romanian dairy producers announced that in the forthcoming weeks they will organise rallies around the country to express their frustration. (AMP)


  • Eliminating Milk Quotas in the EU

    Eliminating Milk Quotas in the EU

    The Romanian producers say that in the absence of a bigger support from the authorities, many of the dairy farms and factories in this country will go bankrupt. The Romanian Agriculture Minister however says that there are no reasons for concern.



    Milk quotas in the EU have been eliminated as of April 1st, so each EU country now has the right to produce as much as it wants. Romanian farmers, however, are worried about the consequences of this measure. Early this year, the Employers’ Association in the Dairy Industry (APRL) estimated that out of the 130 dairy factories in Romania, only 70 will survive by the end of 2015.



    According to the association, the dairy market in Romania is worth an estimated 900 million Euros. A few days ago, the Vice-president of the Agrostar Federation, Stefan Musca, stated that after the elimination of milk quotas, many farmers would go bankrupt, as milk from abroad would be cheaper.



    According to Stefan Musca, 60% of the cow farms in the country will disappear, because in the other EU countries subsidies in the sector are much higher and they are paid on time. The Romanian Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin has assured farmers that they have no reasons to worry, because, according to estimates, the production of milk will only increase by 1% at EU level, therefore the risk of Romania having to import cheaper milk from other countries is extremely low. He has stated that the issue facing the Romanian dairy market today is the drop in consumption, because prices are too high.



    Minister Constantin hopes that the reduction of the VAT on foodstuffs, including milk, from 24% as it is today to 9% starting June, will have positive effects. A lower VAT is aimed at boosting consumption and maybe that will also lead to lower production costs, Constantin has also said, adding that the process of collecting milk from producers needs to be improved as well.



    In another move, the Romanian Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture has announced that, as of April 1st, along with the elimination of milk quotas in the EU, new regulations have appeared regarding producers and buyers in the sector. Under the new provisions, any milk delivery on Romanian soil can only be done on the basis of a contract concluded between the parties, valid for at least 6 months.



    Any delivery outside the terms of the contract shall be legally sanctioned. For the 2014-2015 milk quotas, the Romanian farmers must submit, until May 14th 2015, annual statements regarding direct sales or deliveries of milk. As of May 1st, businesses shall declare by the 15th of each month the quantity of milk bought from producers the previous month.



    The Agency has recommended Romanian producers to establish their own professional organizations, in order to be able to make it on the market and to increase their advantage when negotiating with first-buyers. For them to become known, producers’ organizations must submit an application, accompanied by substantiating annexes, to the county branches of the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture.