Romanian farmers not happy with Govt.’s ban on grain export

Romania's wheat and maize crops are four times bigger than the domestic consumption, and local farmers don't have enough silos to store them. Thus, the Government's decision to ban grain exports, if maintained over summer and autumn, will generate problems, representatives of local farmers told Mediafax.

The Government banned the export of grains and processed grains (including bakery) outside the European Union through a military ordinance.

"I think there are enough reserves in the country, we should not have reached this point," said Cornel Stroescu - a farmer from southern Romania.

He says that farmers fear that the ban will not be lifted, and they will not be able to sell their wheat, barley, rapeseed crops. This would be a disaster since the farmers have no storage capacities, Stroescu claims.

Meanwhile, the local zootechnical sector is underdeveloped and can't take over the local grain production.

"We know very well that animal farming is ruined and the vast majority of maize and rapeseed goes to export. (...) We do not know at this moment what will happen. I suspect we will not be able to sell the crops, unless the export is allowed somehow," said the deputy president of the League of Agricultural Producers' Associations in Romania, Ilie Popescu.

The European Commission also criticized the Romanian Government’s decision to ban grain exports outside the EU.

(Photo source: Dmytro Shestakov/Dreamstime.com)