World Grain - November 2012 - 26

COUNTRYFOCUS

Romanian production
(in million tonnes)

12 Wheat 10 8 6 4 2 0 2010 2011 2012 2013* Maize Barley

*Forecast Source: International Grains Council

ter with almost three quarters of the acreage replanted in the spring,” the attaché report continued. “Total rapeseed acreage plunged from 360,000 hectares planted in the fall to 91,000 hectares by the spring. Production is estimated at 140,000 tonnes, versus 750,000 tonnes last year.” Average yields are down by 16% on 2011 levels. Exports are unlikely to exceed 15% of last year’s volume of 600,000 tonnes and domestic crush demand will likely require imports in order to be satisﬁed. Farmers replanted part of the winter-killed rapeseed area to sunﬂowers, the attaché said, leading to an expansion in area of around 11% to 1.1 million hectares. The sunﬂower crop was less affected by the drought with production estimated down by about 25%. Production is expected at 1.38 million tonnes, which is equivalent to an average yield of 1.23 tonnes per hectare. Last year, the average yield was 1.8 tonnes/hectare. “While sunﬂower heads were generally smaller in size, the plant density per hectare compensated for the loss in weight,” the attaché said. “This year’s production is expected to be sufﬁcient to cover both domestic crush requirements and foreign (export) demand. “Similarly to corn, dryness and heat accelerated the maturation process. Harvesting started in early August, two weeks earlier than normal. Initial harvest results indicated lower oil content, not more than 37% to 38%. But as the harvest advanced, the aggregate crop oil content approached normal levels.” A KEY ROLE IN E.U. AGRICULTURE As a member of the E.U. since 2007, Romania’s farm policy comes under the E.U.’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Romania plays a key role in running the CAP, as the European commissioner in charge of its administration is the former Romanian agriculture minister Dacian Ciolos, who has held the role since February 2010. His role includes guiding current negotiations on the CAP after 2013.
26

A MORE ENTHUSIASTIC APPROACH TO BIOTECH Romania has reacted more positively to developments in biotechnology than some E.U. countries. “Romanian farmers continue to remain in the group of E.U. member states utilizing the opportunity to cultivate biotech crops,” said an attaché report published in June. “Currently the only genetically modiﬁed (GM) crop under commercial cultivation in Romania is MON 810 insect resistant corn.” The report put the area cultivated in 2012 at about 300 hectares, most of it for seed production. That is a drop of 48% compared to the previous year, mainly as a result of extensive traceability requirements, minimum isolation distance in the context of corn plantings expansion as well as the difﬁculties in marketing the harvest, the report said. “Romanian farmers are eager to regain access to biotech soybeans, considering their positive experience with this crop before E.U. accession,” the report said. “Over the past several years, the soybean acreage has declined drastically, dropping to about 72,000 hectares in 2011, which is 38% of the area registered ﬁve years ago. In 2012, a similar area of soybeans is expected to be harvested. Soybeans high production cost and lower productivity inﬂuence farmers’ decision.” Low domestic availability led to increasing imports of biotech soybeans for the livestock and poultry industry. Total soybeans and soy meal imports grew in 2011 by about 5% to reach 490,000 tonnes, with Brazil and Argentina the main suppliers. IMPORTANCE TO TRANSPORT Romania is of vital importance to the countries of central and eastern Europe, because of the river Danube, which ﬂows through Romania to the Black Sea. However, in 2012 a lack of rain and high temperatures threatened transport on the rover. “Serbia and Hungary grain exports may be affected when their crops are harvested in the near future and the volume intended for water shipment to Constanta Port on the Black Sea is expected to increase,” the attaché said in a report on the problem issued in August. “Danube river speed ﬂow at the entry point in Romania was in July about 60% of the multi-year average, due to lower rainfall and heat in the countries upstream,” the report said. “According to the forecast issued by the Romanian Hydrologic Institute for the timeframe August-October 2012, the Danube river speed ﬂow at the entrance in Romania will remain under the multi-year average.” The attaché reported an improvement in soil moisture following precipitation in the third week of September. However, it was not enough to replace depleted soil moisture levels, so the subsurface moisture is notably under the level registered last year. The dryness made it difﬁcult and costly to sow winder crops. Water conservative agriculture practices, with minimum till, are being adopted at an increasing rate among farmers, the report said. “In case of rapeseed, the optimal timeframe for sowing
November 2012 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

http://www.World-Grain.com

World Grain - November 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - November 2012