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Agriculture : Iohannis: Romania can become force in agriculture but must make up for delays
President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday, at Indagra agricultural trade fair, that Romania has a huge potential in agriculture, but he added that it needs to be capitalised upon intelligently and sustainably.
"I have all the conviction that Romania has a huge potential in agriculture, which we must capitalise on in a smart and sustainable way," said Klaus Iohannis.
He also pointed out that Romania holds the sixth-largest agricultural area in the European Union and that it is one of the top 10 exporters of wheat and corn worldwide.
"We have everything we need to make our country a real force in the agricultural and food sector, but in order to do this, the delays have to be made up for and some shortcomings must be eliminated," the President said.
In turn, Minister of Agriculture Petre Daea said that Romania has drawn this year 3.3 billion euros of European money from the special programmes for agriculture, underlining that Romania does not have a comfortable situation with regard to the trade balance in agri-food products and added he was displeased that "we import a lot and sometimes of questionable quality," and exports are largely made up of unprocessed products.
Daea specified that although there are visible results, there is still much to be done in Romania's agriculture, "with a high degree of expectation".
"We believe that all of us who work in agriculture and food industry, from the Government to the last clerk, and together with the farmers of the country's agriculture, regardless of the sector, must continue our programmes and prepare our country for the important stage of Romania's presidency in 2019 [EU Council's Presidency] and the establishment of some clear objectives for Romania within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy," said Petre Daea.