Romania is the third-largest exporter of cereals in the European Union and the EU leader in sunflower and maize in terms of cultivated area. Agri-food exports exceeded €13 billion in 2024, according to data from INS and Eurostat. And yet, the agri-food trade balance recorded a deficit of €3.3 billion, with imports exceeding €15 billion. This paradox defines the structure of Romanian agriculture: we export a lot, but cheaply, and import less, but at higher prices.

The composition of exports clearly illustrates the problem. Cereals account for 50% of the total, while vegetable oils add another 18% — primary products with minimal added value. Romania surpassed France for the first time in the volume of cereals exported to non-EU countries, but the value remained lower: €2.9 billion compared to €3.1 billion in 2023. In other words, we sell more and earn less. Agri-food exports decreased by 3% in 2024 compared to 2023, reaching €6.2 billion for the purely agricultural segment, due to reduced cereal production caused by drought, while imports of food products increased by 7%, reaching €3.2 billion.

A Deloitte study for the Concordia Employers’ Confederation, published in November 2025, quantifies the structural gap: productivity in Romania’s food processing sector is three times lower than the European average, and 97% of farms are subsistence or semi-subsistence. At the same time, Romania exported 6.4 million tonnes of cereals in the 2025–2026 season (first 25 weeks), representing 33.4% of total EU cereal exports — a remarkable quantitative performance that remains insufficiently capitalized financially.

The structural solution identified by analysts is vertical integration: farmers processing their own production, cooperatives negotiating directly with retail, and national brands capable of commanding price premiums on the European market. Poland, a relevant benchmark, has built over the past 15 years a strong food processing industry based on the same agricultural raw materials that Romania has. The difference is not in the field, but in the factory and in strategy.

(Photo: Magnific)