The recent FIBL report regarding the global development in the organic sector indicates that Romania is making progress in this area, but is still modest compared to other countries.
Romania is the 9th largest producer of organic products and is in the top ten producers with increase in organic production according to the latest FIBL report in 2019. Thus, the latest FIBL report indicates an increase in the organic area of 14.2%, 6th place in Europe in dynamic growth. This shows that there is an increased interest of Romanian producers to change from traditional agriculture to organic, compared to other European countries.
However, this dynamic growth, in recent years, has not led Romania to the forefront of the share of organic products in all the agricultural areas nationwide (the growth is only 2% in Romania), much lower compared to other countries (Estonia 20.5%, Czech Republic 12.2%, Slovakia 10%, Lithuania 8.1%, Germany 8.2%, Hungary 4.3%, Poland 3.4%, Bulgaria 2.9%).
A disadvantage of the ecological sector in Romania is related to the internal market, that is still underdeveloped, with a small number of consumers of ecological products. Moreover, in Romania there is a lack of statistical data on the sales and purchases of organic products on the domestic market.
Another area where Romania occupies a good place, compared to other countries internationally, is the collection of organic honey from wild areas, the 4th place in the world (1.8 million hectares in 2014).
It should be mentioned that FIBL (the Institute for Research in the Field of Organic Agriculture) reports, are the most appreciated and accurate in the field of organic agriculture, and the report they did in 2019 is based on national statistics compared internationally using data up to 2017.
“The new FIBL report, made public in February this year at Biofach Nuremberg, shows us clearly where we stand in international comparison, in the field of organic products: modest developments compared to other countries, high potential in production and in terms of available area but low domestic demand, small number of processors and processed products, modest use of the areas for organic production, weak export. An undeveloped market but with great potential “said Assoc. Dr. Costin Lianu, President of INTER-BIO, General Manager of USH Pro Business.