Romania’s cattle sector is facing a turning point in 2025. On one hand, production is showing encouraging signs of recovery: as of June 1, 2025, Romania had 1.84 million cattle, nearly 13,000 more animals compared to the same date of the previous year, while the breeding herd increased by more than 20,700 head. On the other hand, this recovery comes after decades of herd decline: from 2006 to 2024, Romania lost more than 38% of its cattle population, and the consolidation process remains slow and uneven across regions.

At the industrial production level, National Institute of Statistics (INS) data for 2024 presents a mixed picture. Beef production increased by 12.2%, supported by a 10.2% rise in the number of cattle slaughtered in abattoirs. The dairy sector followed a similar trajectory: processors collected more than 44,000 additional tons of raw cow’s milk compared to 2023, equivalent to a 3.6% increase.

However, the positive figures in domestic production are overshadowed by a concerning reality regarding imports. The volume of imported raw milk increased by nearly 40% in 2024 compared to the previous year, exceeding by more than 1,900 tons the growth rate of milk collected from Romanian farms. In other words, the processing industry is growing faster than local production can support — a clear signal that investments in farms must accelerate.

The future of the sector depends on farmers’ ability to transition from small-scale, self-consumption-oriented operations to competitive, vertically integrated commercial structures capable of meeting the increasingly strict demands of the market and European legislation.

(Photo: Freepik)