Vegetable production to decline by half this year

The vegetable production will decline by half this year compared to 2011 because of the drought having badly damaged the biggest part of the agricultural crops, according to the Romanian farmers.

'This year's production of wheat and barley declined by half compared to last year, while the production of canola practically does not exist. As far as the corn production is concerned, the situation is catastrophic, with over fifty percent drought-stricken crops. There are areas where the drought-stricken crops are totally destroyed. I believe that the sunflower production too risks declining by 40-45 percent,' Chairman of the League of Romanian Farm Producers' Association (LAPAR) Laurentiu Baciu told Agerpres.

Baciu said that the prices of the raw materials doubled in the last month, therefore the food products will become more expensive in the period to come.

State Secretary with the Agriculture Ministry Daniel Botanoiu said at the beginning of the week that 'over 47 percent of the fields cultivated with corn are affected by the drought, being one of the crops to be highly damaged this year,' said Botanoiu.

The wheat production stood at 4.78 million tons in 2012, almost half of the 2011 production that totalled 7.103 million tons.

Romania ranked first in the European Union in 2011 by the fields cultivated with corn, but it ranked second by production, after France, because of a lower yield. Last year, Romania cultivated 2.63 million hectares with corn and obtained a production of 11.666 million tons. A number of 2.67 million hectares have been sown with corn this year.

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