President: Romania's 2011 crops were exceptional, the lower 2012 one is the real potential

The year 2011 was an exceptional one for Romania's agriculture, but it is not the norm for Romania, and politicians and economists should understand that. The Romanian president himself said it: “We're comparing this year to the last. This approach, comparing the 2012 crop to the year before is used by some politicians too, saying that this year we were unlucky because of the drought. I would like to underline that 2011 was an exceptional year, […], the best in the last three decades,” said president Traian Basescu. In fact, the 2012 crop better mirrors Romania's real potential, also taking into account the existing agriculture infrastructure. Basescu shared his ideas on agriculture ahead of a meeting with representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Erik de Vrijer, the head of the IMF delegation, also said Romania's economic growth in 2012 will be moderate and lower than in 2011, after being affected by the drought this year. Earlier this year, the damage caused by the drought was estimated at some EUR 800 million. Drought damaged almost half of Romania's agricultural land. Most affected were corn – 81 percent and sun flower - 45 percent. Romania's vegetable and fruit production was 40 percent lower this year because of the drought and pre-existing financial problems. Romania's vegetable production in 2011 was of 4 million tonnes, an increase of 6 percent on 2010. editor@romania-insider.com