Grain giants make 600 million euros with 300 employees

The local branches of international giants Alfred C. Toepfer, Cargill and Glencore, companies that employ merely 300 people, conducted 584 million euros' worth of grain trade last year, down 175 million euros compared with 2008.

Even though the financial results are lower than in 2008, the employees of the major companies involved in grain trade are among the most productive in the economy, with the turnover per employee amounting to 2 million euros a year, that is 166,000 euros per month.

The lower amount of grain produced in Romania and especially the low prices of agricultural produce showed in the sales of the three traders last year, and also affected their profitability.

Whereas two years ago, each of the three companies made profit, in 2009 the situation changed radically, and three traders slipped into the red, posting a cumulated loss of 15.3 million euros, compared with 13.5 million euros in profit the year before.

Worst decline was Cargill's, which posted 227 million-euro turnover in 2009, down over 30% compared with 2008, and 13 million-euro losses from a 2.7 million-euro profit.