The drought could up prices for foodstuffs

The coronavirus crisis and the drought might impact the price of foodstuffs, Romanian Minister for Agriculture, Adriana Oros, has said

Daniela Budu, 08.05.2020, 13:50

Romania will be
able to spend 80 million euros to support farmers affected by the COVID-19
crisis, after European fora have accepted our country’s request to employ
unused funds allotted under the European agricultural fund for rural
development (EAFRD) to this end, Agriculture Minister Adrian Oros has said.
Assistance will cap at 5,000 euros for individual farmers and at 50,000 euros
for food processors. The assistance adds to the national bailout plans for
farmers affected by the drought. The Government plans to create a fund for
loans and guarantees, as well as support for the payment of day workers, which
is meant to help producers, Minister Oros told Radio Romania. The Romanian
official claims over a million hectares of farmland are affected by drought
this year, the areas facing the most problems being in the south-east and
north-east. The Minister has nonetheless given assurances that the state has
enough reserves to cover the domestic food demand. As regards the evolution of
basic foodstuffs, Adrian Oros said:

I cannot make
an estimate right now. For instance, prices for a number of products are low,
because retailers are overstocked. We can’t say exactly where things are
headed, what the autumn harvest will look like, how long this crisis will last
and the extent to which it will impact the economic performance of farmers and
food companies. So far there are only a few fields affected by the crisis. If
we recover within a month and resume production, consumption will go up as well
and the relations between consumers, producers, processors and retailers will
return to normal, so we might not report too many losses.

Minister Oros
also pointed out that even in the grimmest scenarios referring to the effects
of the drought this year, this autumn’s harvest will cover the entire domestic
consumption of cereals. The Romanian official went on to say the Government is
considering the possibility of halting exports of basic products, if the
situation requires it. Adrian Oros:

We are certain
we have enough cereal reserves to last us until the new harvest, then we will
make sure we have enough cereals in our granaries across the country to cover
the daily consumption of Romanian citizens. If the situation demands it, we
will cease certain exports, a measure we have used before.

According to
data provided by the Environment Ministry in Bucharest, April, 2020 was the
driest month on record, exceeding the record set in 2007.

(Translated by
V. Palcu)