Romania’s 2024 grain crop falls to lowest level in a decade

Romania recorded its lowest cereal production in ten years in 2024, harvesting 17.87 million tons, a 14.7% decrease compared to 2023, Economicareported on May 7, citing data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

The drop was driven primarily by significant declines in wheat, maize, and oilseed outputs.

This is the lowest cereal grain production Romania has recorded in the last ten years.

The wheat crop fell to 9.29 million tons, down slightly from 9.6 million tons in 2023. However, the maize harvest saw a steeper fall, reaching 5.99 million tons compared to 8.5 million tons in the previous year.

Barley and barley groats increased marginally to 2.19 million tons, while oats production dropped to 145,000 tons from 155,000 tons.

Oilseed production was also severely affected, falling 28% year-on-year to 2.95 million tons. This included a 34% decline in sunflower output to 1.49 million tons, a modest drop in soybean production to 295,000 tons from 300,000 tons, and a sharp fall in rapeseed harvests to 1.16 million tons from 1.7 million tons in 2023.

Grain production, including lesser-used cereals, was 126,000 tons, down 30% from 164,000 tons in 2023.

Vegetable and potato harvests also declined. Vegetable output dropped to 2.06 million tons from 2.4 million tons, while potato production fell to 968,000 tons compared to just over 1 million tons in the previous year.

The overall decline reflects worsening climatic conditions, compounded by water shortages and rising production costs that have affected yields across the sector.

(Photo: Musuc Alexandr/ Dreamstime)