We bring food from over one billion euros from abroad. The “twin” deficit increases alarming after the first 4 months

Romania's exports increased anemic in the first 4 months (0.5%), but the imports were 6% higher, the data transmitted by the National Institute of Statistics shows. The commercial deficit was 11.6 billion euros, higher by almost 25% than in the first 4 months of last year.

The import and import drink pass through the threshold of 10% of the total imports, exceeding 4.4 billion in the 4 months from the beginning of the year. More than one billion euros a month.

Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria are the countries that put the most food in our plates

The lack of a sufficient number of local producers of foods that fall into the daily consumption of Romanians make imports increase, and this will create big problems in the future, explains the head of the INS, Tudorel Andrei.

The author of a book on this topic- “Foreign Trade of Romania with agri-food products”-, Prof. Andrei shows that in the food trade the average annual deficits registered by Romania have increased more than 7 times in relation to Hungary, more than 12 times in the case of Poland and more than 25 times in the case of Bulgaria.

Because we do not have large capabilities for processing raw materials, Romania imports more and more agri -food products, especially from EU member countries.

Among the most important countries in relation to the share of the volume of imports in these states are Hungary and Poland and newer, Bulgaria.

Meat, milk, eggs- Thanks for the table, Hungary!

In the last 15 years, a number of 20 categories of products out of the 24 included in the combined nomenclature have registered deficit in the commercial relationship with Hungary, says Prof. Andrei.

In commercial exchanges with Poland, 22 categories of products had at the level of this period a volume of imports greater than exports. In both situations, a high degree of deficiency in these products is noted for a small number of agri -food products.

Thus, in the case of Hungary, a number of three categories of products accumulated more than 50% of the total deficit registered by the 20 product categories. These are: “Edible meat and organs” (code 2) with a deficit of over 1.64 billion euros (20.7% of the deficit of the 20 product categories), “residues and food waste, food and animal preparations” (code 23) with a deficit of over 1.33 billion euros (16.8%), and “milk and lactate products” a deficit of over 1.67 billion euros (14.7%).

Cereals, pastry, meat- thank you for the table, Poland!

In the case of Poland, the first three categories of products in which the highest weight of the deficit has been accumulated are: “preparations based on cereals and pastry products” (code 19) with a deficit of over 725 million euros (14.2% of the weight of the 22 products that contributed negatively to the commercial balance from this period), “milk and milk” 725 million euros (14.2%) and “Edible meat and organs” (code 2) with a deficit of about 540 million euros (10.6%).

Both in the case of Poland and Hungary, the large number of agri -food products to which we register deficits, as well as the fact that a small number of product categories, among the processed products and which enter the population consumption, accumulates very large deficits, must be emphasized.

Vegetables, fruits, coffee, fish- Thanks to the table, Bulgaria!

These are the main categories of foods with a negative commercial balance in the relationship with the neighbors from the south. In Bulgaria, of the 24 agri -food products, 11 products made a surplus of 19 billion euros, and the remaining 13 products brought a deficit of 11.6 billion euros.

At milk, the production has reduced by almost half

“Such examples could continue with a long list of agri-food products. We produce less and less, although” the internal consumption of agri-food products of the population has increased, as a result of increasing income and more diversified supply from the chains of stores that have developed at national level, “explains Tudorel Andrei.

Unfortunately, the changes in the internal market did not take advantage of the production units in the country, and the internal demand was satisfied by massive imports, says the head of the INS.

For example, explains Tudorel Andrei, we cultivate and export important quantities from the production of sunflower that are processed in economic units from abroad; Following the production process carried out in the economic units outside the country, both a main product and residues that could be used in combination with other products, for example, are obtained to obtain animal feed.

Often, they are imported, however, by economic agents in the country for animal feed; On the production and sale chain, some of the animals are exported as living animals that are sacrificed, in turn in abroad slaughterhouses and where they are processed for obtaining meat products that are ultimately returned, for import consumption, at high prices.