Romania’s dairy sector is facing, in the spring of 2026, one of the most severe crises of the past decade. Data collected by Revista Fermierului and Revista Ferma from active farms reveal an impossible equation: at the beginning of March 2026, the production cost of one liter of milk ranges between 2.05 and 2.55 lei, depending on the size of the farm and its level of indebtedness. At the same time, the price offered by processors at the farm gate has dropped to between 1.2 and 1.5 lei per liter for milk traded on the spot market and between 1.5 and 1.9 lei under contracts longer than 90 days. Farmers are selling below production cost by 30% or more — while on store shelves, the same liter of milk cannot be found for less than 8.5 lei.

The causes of the crisis are multiple and overlapping. The war in Iran has blocked European dairy exports to Gulf countries — a destination that absorbed approximately 10–15% of the continent’s dairy production. The resulting surplus has depressed prices across Europe, with the pressure falling entirely on Romanian farmers, who lack hedging instruments and industrial capacities for transforming milk into buffer products such as milk powder, bulk butter, or standardized cheeses. Mihai Horvat, President of the Someș-Arieș Agricultural Cooperative, warns that processors have begun abandoning milk collection from small farms — those delivering less than 150–200 liters per day — and have cancelled collection routes of up to 10,000 liters per day. Many small farmers no longer have access to the market.

Farmer Sorin Plamadă, quoted by Revista Ferma, describes in direct terms what the crisis means in practice: every month he sells one animal in order to cover his losses. It is a short-term survival strategy that irreversibly erodes livestock numbers. Interim Minister Tánczos Barna publicly acknowledged that the milk market is one of the two significant problems requiring urgent solutions — alongside the pork market — but an interim government has limited intervention tools. Farmers are calling for mechanisms to cap imports, a guaranteed minimum price, and support for building processing capacities in Romania capable of absorbing surpluses during crisis periods.

(Photo: Magnific)