Romania moves to streamline grain exports from local farmers through Constanta port

“Together with the minister of transport, Radu Miruță, and with representatives of railway companies and the administration of the Port of Constanta, we had a meeting with representative associations of farmers in the crop sector to find solutions to the logistical difficulties related to the export of Romanian grains,” Tanczos wrote on Facebook.

“As I stated the other day, our priority is to provide Romanian farmers with the transport capacity and logistics necessary for their goods to reach export markets as efficiently as possible,” he added.

The move comes amid growing pressure on Romania’s grain-export infrastructure.

Poland and Romania have turned down Ukraine’s request for help moving millions of tonnes of grain trapped by Russian attacks on its Black Sea ports and shipping, Politico reported on October 4.

“The interest for our own farmers remains a priority,” Tanczos said.

Surplus Ukrainian grain, combined with low water levels on the Danube, is already putting additional pressure on Romanian ports and making it more difficult for local farmers to sell their crops.

“Everybody knows we cannot double the number of trains, we cannot double the roads, railways and port capacity,” he said. “It is what it is.”

According to Tanczos, the discussions focused on removing administrative blockages and logistical bottlenecks in order to improve the organisation of transport and facilitate the export of Romanian agri-food products through the Port of Constanta.

Transport minister Radu Miruță said the meeting resulted in an agreement to amend the order approving the regime for accepting freight trains at railway stations serving the Constanta seaport.

The changes are intended to shorten the time required to issue port acceptance for trains awaiting unloading, improve coordination among operators transporting goods to the port and introduce a more effective mechanism for sanctioning those that fail to comply with the rules.

“The necessary regulatory changes will be implemented expeditiously by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in the immediate future,” Miruță said.