Romanian farmers gathered the largest soybean crop in the last nine years

Romanian farmers have harvested this fall 221,000 tons of soybeans, up by 47 per cent from last year, making it the largest production in the last nine years

2014-12-01 12:53:29 - From the Print Edition

The result came after the areas planted with soybeans increased by almost a third, productivity being sustained also by the rainy summer. "It is a great production potential in the Danube region, where production increased by 19 per cent," Ursula Bittner, manager of the Danube Soya, a regional organization that promotes non-GM soybean production, as quoted by Ziarul Financiar. "There is a primary potential for production of five million tons annually in the European market. Secondary is the potential for processing."
The production of non-GM, conventional soybeans marks the first steps to enter the business plans of Romanian farmers after eight years since production of genetically modified soybeans was banned in Romania.
The Romanian soybean market is a business estimated at 40 million Euro per year for Romanian farmers, but the harvest is currently less than 10 per cent of its potential.
The European Union is the second-largest importer of soybeans in the world, largely used as feed in livestock farms. Its net importer position will remain in the future, but non-GM soy crops have the potential to serve as fodder for livestock farms which are positioned in the traditional segment.