Romania announces EUR 150mn grant scheme for food processing companies

The Romanian Government will enact a new grant scheme for food production companies, worth €150mn, similar to the one already prepared in the field of construction materials, Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Radu Oprea, announced.

The scheme will use the European Commission's approval issued for the construction materials scheme, meaning that no separate approval process is needed, minister Oprea said.

"Another program will be the one regarding the processing of agri-food products so that as many quality Romanian products as possible are on the retailers' shelves, ranging from cereals, vegetables, and fruits that we produce in Romania. Romania exports wheat and imports frozen bread; it exports potatoes and imports chips and frozen processed potatoes. The scheme will support processing in Romania," the minister said.

The Government has recently drafted a bill to cap the markups charged by food processing companies, distribution companies and retailers for a list of staple food goods.

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