The first national program aimed at supporting the production and sale of Romanian pork was launched on Wednesday, November 22, with the support of German group Kaufland, the biggest retailer in Romania in terms of revenues, local Tara Mea Agricultural Cooperative, the Commission for Agriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

The retailer has introduced the Romanian Shelf in its hypermarkets, where clients can find 100% Romanian pork. The program includes over half of small and medium-sized farmers in Romania, and provides them with the guarantee that all the pigs born and raised in Romania will be taken over by the retailer.

The initiative includes the collection of pig meat from Romanian farmers, as well as changing the feeding format of the pigs included in the program with an exclusively Romanian one.

Kaufland Romania promises to take over 60% of the Romanian pork when the project reaches maturity. Thus, the amount taken by the retailer will reach over 300,000 pigs per year. The program is being implemented gradually, and today Kaufland Romania already receives deliveries of over 400 pigs per day. The quantity is expected to double by the end of the year.

According to Tara Mea Agricultural Cooperative, Romania produced about 15 million pigs in 1989. Since then, domestic production has declined significantly, reaching only 800,000 pigs per year in 2000. Now, the country produces some 4.4 million pigs. Around 60% of the pork in the local modern and traditional trade network comes from import.

Data from the National Statistics Institute (INS) showed that pork is the most popular type of meat among Romanians, covering almost half of the total meat consumption in the country. Poultry and beef come next, but with much lower shares.

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Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com