The food prices will rise significantly over the coming quarters, while the households' purchasing power is weakening - which puts at risk particularly the local producers, according to farmers and Government officials discussing the topic in a TV show aired by Digi24 TV station.

"[The prices] could even triple. The problem is that the purchasing power does not exist. We can triple the prices, double them, make them 10 times bigger. Who is going to buy?" Agrostar president Ștefan Nicolae wondered.

If the Government is not intervening quickly, there will be no longer supply from small producers, who will have to close down their businesses, he explained.

Adrian Chesnoiu, Minister of Agriculture, said that "the rise in electricity and natural gas prices and the chaotic way in which the energy market has been liberalized has caused a snowball effect that is hitting more and more sectors." 

andrei@romania-insider.com

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