Drought cut Romanian farmers’ revenues by EUR 1.5 bln-1.8 bln

The drought severely impacted the crops on 2.5 million hectares in Romania this year, approximately 40% of the wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower cultivated areas, according to Ionel Arion, the president of the Pro Agro National Federation, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

The prolonged drought hit the corn and sunflower crops hard but also damaged the wheat and rapeseed crops.

The corn and sunflower crops account for the largest part of the areas impacted by the drought, 2 million ha altogether.

The total losses, calculated as the revenues not realized by farmers, amount to EUR 1.5 billion-1.8 billion.

The estimates are less optimistic than those of the Ministry of Agriculture, which will disburse compensations in the amount of EUR 500 million-600 million.

Farmers claim that this covers less than the cost of sowing. It costs between EUR 800 and EUR 1,200 to set up a hectare, and the compensations are between EUR 200 and EUR 230 per ha, depending on the degree of drought damage for corn and sunflower crops. The lease paid to the land owner comes on top of this, the farmers explain.

The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that these losses extend to approximately 2 million hectares at the national level. In addition, 330,000 hectares of autumn crops were impacted.

(Photo source: Calyx22/Dreamstime.com)