Romania wants to extend embargo on land acquisition by foreigners

Romania intends to block foreign access to its agricultural land market from 2013 onward, when the terms of Romania's EU accession treaty deem that the market should be opened, allowing foreigners to buy land in the country without having to set up a local company first. The country's Agriculture Minister Stelian Fuia said he plans to extend the ban after 2013, by changing Romania's accession treaty. At present, foreigners can only buy land in Romania through companies set up locally, and not as individuals. From 2013, they should have the right to buy land directly in Romania, according to the current accession treaty. By asking foreigners to first set up a company in Romania before buying land, the country tries to protect itself from a wave of foreign buyers who would take advantage of low prices and eventually control Romania's agriculture. The price of agricultural land in Romania was between EUR 1,500 and EUR 2,500 per hectare in 2010, while in 2011, it reached EUR 4,000 to EUR 5,000 per hectare in some areas, among the lowest in the European Union. The price per hectare can reach 10,000 and even EUR 15,000 in countries with developed agriculture sectors. Foreign companies own some 700,000 hectares of land in Romania, around 8.5 percent of the country’s plough-able area, according to data previously releases by Romania’s Agriculture Ministry. Italian buyers rank first, with 24 percent, followed by Germans, with 15.4 percent, and buyers from Arabic countries, some 9.9 percent. Hungarians have some 8 percent of the 700,000 hectares of land owned by foreigners in Romania, while Spanish buyers, some 6 percent. Then come Austrians, with 6 percent, Danish buyers – some 4.5 percent, Greek and Dutch, with 2.4 percent each. All these investments are made through local companies with foreign shareholders. editor@romania-insider.com