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Agriculture: Wine exports, up 15% in Q1
Romania exported in Q1 2013 as many as 2,682.5 tonnes of wine and vermouth obtained from fresh grapes, on the rise by 15% from the same period of last year, when the relevant exports totaled 2,331.3 tonnes, according to the agri-food trade balance provide by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR).
The proceeds from wine exports totaled 3.68 million euros in Q1 2013, by 18% more compared to the sum obtained in the same period of 2012, 3.11 million euros respectively.
The wines from fresh grapes exported to EU and non-EU countries totaled 2,579.4 tonnes in Q1 2013, and the vermouth - 103.1 tonnes.
According to the MADR statistics, the wine imports were in the said period almost four times higher than exports, having totaled 10,067.5 tonnes, but they went down compared to the amounts imported from foreign markets in the same period of 2012.
The value of wine imports from EU and non-EU countries reached almost 8.54 million euros in Q1 2013, down by 22% from the 10.98 million euros spent in the similar period of 2012 on a much higher quantity: 18,489.3 tonnes of wine.
Romania ranks 6th in Europe in terms of vineyard areas and 7th as far as production of grapes and wine goes, with vineyards representing 1.6% of the country's agricultural assets and 2.4% of Romania's arable area.
Wine production in 2012 stood at 3.31 million hectolitres, after it peaked 5.36 million hectolitres in 2009. Romania's vine-growing sector holds a market of some 400 million euros. The country is among the top ten wine consumers worldwide by 22-24 litres per capita, which is only half of the wine consumption in developed countries, where it amounts to 50 litres per capita.