With 11.87 million sheep and goats at the end of 2024, Romania ranks second in the European Union, after Spain, and also ranks second in livestock density per 100 hectares, after Greece.

Compared to 2006, livestock numbers increased by 41.2%, while compared to 2023, an additional 148,300 head were added.

These are figures that should describe a strong and profitable sector.

And yet, the actual structure of the industry tells a far more complicated story.

Romania is the largest exporter of live sheep to non-EU markets within the European Union.

In 2023, exports totaled 63,332 tonnes of live sheep and goats, at an average price of €329 per 100 kilograms live weight.

This figure hides a major structural vulnerability: farmers are selling live animals rather than processed products.

According to European Commission data, lamb carcass prices reached €856 per 100 kilograms across Europe in the autumn of 2024 — more than two and a half times higher than the price obtained for live animal exports.

The value left on the table is enormous.

The sector includes 4,987 registered economic operators, of which only 433 are fiscally active and have submitted financial statements.

Together, they generated a turnover of RON 874 million and a cumulative profit of RON 38 million in 2023, with only 734 employees — a clear sign that much of the activity remains informal and is managed through family-based structures.

Sheep and goat meat production increased by 62.1% in 2024 compared to 2023, reaching 18,180 tonnes, but most of the added value continues to be captured outside Romania’s borders.

The positive trend is coming from farms that have chosen vertical integration: sheep milk processing, aged cheese production, and direct sales.

The Lacaune breed, with production of approximately 300 liters of milk per animal and milk prices of RON 7–8 per liter, is becoming increasingly attractive.

The future of the sector does not lie in exporting more live sheep.

It lies in creating more value at the source.

(Photo: Freepik)