The government has extended the cap on food additives. The list of products targeted by the measure and the reasons cited

The government adopted the draft emergency ordinance that extends by 3 months the limitation of the commercial addition to basic foods. Among the reasons cited is the large increase in fuel prices due to the war in Iran, which affects the prices of agricultural and food products.

UPDATE 19:25 “The government has approved the extension of the capping of the commercial addition to basic foods until June 30, 2026. The measure remains under the same conditions as until now,” announced Ioana Dogioiu, after the government meeting.

The draft GEO released on Monday, in public consultation, by the Ministry of Agriculture, provides for “extending the application period of the Government's Emergency Ordinance No. 67/2023, with a new period of 3 months, respectively until June 30, 2026 inclusive, with effects in combating the excessive increase in prices of some agricultural and food products, in order to maintain the purchasing power of the population for basic products”.

The current mechanism for capping the commercial addition to agri-food products expires today, March 31, 2026.

The measures will apply “only to economic operators registered in Romania, regardless of the form of organization, who undertake import, intra-community trade, distribution and sale activities, for the agricultural and food products provided in the annex to the Emergency Government Ordinance No. 67/2023”.

The reasons cited by the Ministry of Agriculture

The explanatory note cites “recent events in the Middle East that have major repercussions on the one hand on the global oil market, especially in terms of crude oil quotations and on the other hand on the prices of gasoline and standard diesel that have exceeded the level of ten lei per liter, the large increase in the prices of these products reverberating on the dynamics of the prices of agricultural and food products at a rate that cannot be sustained by producers.”

“The imbalances presented above have impacted and continue to negatively impact agriculture and the food industry, which have been strongly affected, resulting in a potential danger of an increase in the prices of agricultural and food products and, implicitly, a decrease in the purchasing power of final consumers, affecting the safety and food security of the population,” says the Ministry.

Producers are free to negotiate their selling price freely

The Ministry of Agriculture claims that this measure does not set the final price, the final price remains the result of the interaction between the real cost and the allowed addition.

Traders and manufacturers retain the freedom to sell below the cap or apply promotions. There are no obligations regarding the volumes offered for sale.

“Thus, the intervention is limited to the distribution and retail stages, without establishing the purchase price from agricultural producers. Producers have the freedom to freely negotiate their selling price to processors or retailers, and the ceiling only covers the margin added downstream.”, the explanatory note also mentions.

List of products and foods for which the addition limitation is applied:

• “1. Plain white bread weighing between 300-500 grams, without specialities
• 2. Magiun up to 350 grams”.
• 3. Cow's milk for consumption 1 l, fat 1.5%, except for UHT
• 4. Bulk cow telemea cheese
• 5. Plain yogurt from cow's milk, 3.5% fat, with a maximum weight of 200 grams
• 6. White wheat flour “000” up to 1 kg
• 7. Grind up to 1 kg
• 8. M caliber chicken eggs
• 9. Sunflower oil up to 2 l
• 10. Fresh chicken meat – Chicken meat, in the application of this emergency ordinance, means: whole chicken, chicken cutlery, whole chicken legs with bone and chicken wings, the standard version.
• 11. Fresh pork – Pork, in the application of this emergency ordinance, means: working pork, pork leg with and without bone, pork loin.
• 12. Fresh vegetables in bulk – Fresh vegetables in bulk, in the application of this emergency ordinance, means: tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, dried beans, carrots, Bianca bell peppers and capsicums, garlic.
• 13. Fresh fruit in bulk – Fresh fruit in bulk, in the application of this emergency ordinance, means red and golden apples, plums, pears, table grapes.
• 14. Fresh white potatoes in bulk
• 15. Cast white sugar up to 1 kg
• 16. Cream- 12% fat
• 17. Butter up to 250 grams.”

The measure to cap the commercial addition to agri-food products was initially introduced in July 2023 (OG 67/2023), for 90 days, and has since been extended several times – most recently in September 2025, until March 31, 2026.

The emergency ordinance provides for the following limits on the commercial allowance:

• the commercial markup applied by the processor is a maximum of 20% compared to the production cost of the product, which includes direct and indirect expenses;
• the commercial mark-up applied cumulatively on the entire distribution chain, regardless of the number of distributors on the chain, is a maximum of 5% compared to the purchase price to which operational expenses are added;
• the commercial mark-up applied by the trader for retail sales and cash carry is a maximum of 20% compared to the purchase price, to which the direct and indirect expenses of the trader are added.