The largest independent grain trader on the Romanian market, Romagro Cereal, will this year begin the investment of 10 million euros in the construction of silos in the county of Calarasi. The silos will have a total capacity of 120,000 tonnes.
"Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems in Romanian agriculture is that farmers grow cereals, but don't know who is going to buy them. On the other hand, in Calarasi, which is one of the agricultural counties with a very high potential, there is not enough storage space," says Cornel Purcarea, a senior manager with Romagro Cereal.
The investment will be for the construction of six silos with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes each and due for completion next year. Romagro Cereal currently has a storage capacity of 40,000 tonnes. The company's turnover last year was 1,250 billion ROL (31 million euros), which was similar in euros to the turnover reported for the previous year.
This year turnover is expected to reach 1,500 billion ROL (about 40 million euros). Mr Purcarea said that investments in warehouses over the following years would be mainly by grain producers that needed transit storage and not by grain traders.
"This year will also see 3-4 million tonnes rolled on the bakery wheat market, with an increase expected in the area of grain fodder thanks to subsidies and a higher focus on the animal breeding sector. Undoubtedly, rape and sun-flower will continue to dominate Romanian exports this year," says Mr Purcarea. After Romania joins the EU, continues Purcarea, demand for soy exports will rise due to the ban on genetically modified varieties.
Romagro Cereal is one of the few traders with its own grain production. This year they will cultivate a total of 10,500 hectares in the southern part of the country, of which 3,500 will be under direct administration.
"The weak year for the beer industry was felt immediately in agriculture, with orders for barley from beer market players dropping strongly in 2004. A similar situation, though on much smaller scale, was encountered by spirits producers," Mr Purcarea explained.
Romagro Cereal is owned by two individual foreign investors from Great Britain and Belgium.
Dutch company Nidera, another major grain trader, recently announced their intention to invest in the construction or acquisition of silos in the following years.
The American company Cargill was responsible for one of the largest investments in grain storage spaces when they bought Comcereal Alexandria for 22 million dollars. Following this acquisition, Cargill became Romania's largest grain storage company, with a total annual capacity of almost one million tonnes. stelian.negrea@zf.ro
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