Two emergency ordinances aimed at establishing state aid programs to partially compensate losses suffered by beekeepers and farmers were passed by the government on Thursday in response to the crisis triggered by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The government highlighted local beekeepers’ significant challenges due to rising fuel costs and other expenses such as labour, veterinary services, utilities and feed.
Moreover, the influx of honey imports from third countries such as Ukraine and China, which undercut prices on the Romanian market, forces local beekeepers to sell their honey below production costs to avoid stockpiling.
In addition, the global marketability of honey produced by Romanian beekeepers in 2023 fell sharply due to imports of low-quality non-EU honey, which saturated markets in all EU Member States.
The new aid scheme complements existing support schemes funded from the national budget, with a maximum aid ceiling of €280,000 per beneficiary.
According to data from the Research Institute for Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, the total expenditure in the beekeeping sector in 2023, with an average production of 12.42 kg of honey per bee family, amounted to 385.9 lei per bee family, while the total income from the total production amounted to 291.9 lei per bee family.
The government will provide financial assistance in the agricultural sector to partially compensate for losses incurred in tomato cultivation in protected areas from December 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 and garlic cultivation from fall 2023 to spring 2024.
This measure is available to agricultural producers who cultivate a cumulative area of at least 1,000 square metres exclusively with tomatoes in protected areas and who cultivate garlic on at least 0.3 hectares.
Comparing 2023 with 2021, data from the Research Institute for the Economy of Agriculture and Rural Development shows a 133.46% increase in expenditure on chemical fertilisers for garlic cultivation.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, the average monthly labour cost per employee in agriculture, forestry and fishing will increase by 14.37% in 2022 compared to 2021.
(Cătălina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)
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