Romania's fruit and vegetable crops severely hit by adverse weather

Fruit and vegetable producers are calling for urgent state intervention after recent episodes of severe frost destroyed large swathes of Romania's horticultural output, according to Ziarul Financiar, quoting a message of the Association of Agricultural Producer Groups and Organisations "Fruleg-Ro."

Their message indicates that food and vegetable imports and prices will rise this year, with a significant impact on inflation and trade deficit.

The "Fruleg-Ro" association, which includes the 50 largest national cooperatives, warned that extreme weather between late February and April has led to a near-total crop failure, with devastating implications for the industry and rural employment.

Romania cultivates fruits on over 140,000 hectares and vegetables on 93,000 hectares. Annually, these sectors yield 1.4 million tons of fruits and 2.3 million tons of vegetables.

Fruleg-Ro warned that without compensation, the impact of this year's losses could be irreversible, citing the long-term consequences of orchard abandonment.

"An abandoned orchard, to which specific conservation works are not applied, has minimal chances of recovery, even in a subsequent favourable meteorological context," the association said.

Romania is already dependent on imports for a significant portion of its fruit and vegetable consumption, with 40% of fruits and 25% of vegetables sourced from abroad. In 2023, fruit imports reached 915,000 tons, valued at EUR 940 million, with key suppliers including Turkey, Greece, Germany, and Poland.

Fruleg-Ro cautions that without government assistance, the import reliance will deepen further, undermining Romania's food and economic security.

(Photo source: Yuriy Nevmerzhitskii/Dreamstime.com)