Businessman Culita Tarata, owner of TCE 3 Brazi, which operatesaround 65,000 hectares of farming land in Insula Mare a Brailei andNeamt county, expects turnover to shrink by 30-35% amid a weakagricultural year that saw grain prices plummet.
"Though we were able to harvest on time and wheat quality wasabove the national average, we still had lower output than lastyear, of 4 tonnes/ha, from 7 tonnes/ha in 2008," stated Tarata, whosays the price of a little above 100 euros/tonne was also way belowlast year's level.
Moreover, barley crops were unprofitable, with an output of 3tonnes/ha and a price of 95-100 euros/tonne. Last year, the pricestood at 241 euros/tonne, according to the National StatisticsInstitute.
While farmers are counting on this autumn's maize and sunflowerproduction, the low price estimated for these crops willsignificantly erode agriculture players' turnover.
Against the price forecast for this autumn, the two crops, eachof 10,000 hectares, will bring Tarata over 15m euros.
"We'll see turnover go down by 30-35% year-on-year, because wehad a difficult year both as regards agriculture, and the timberindustry, where we registered losses," he says.
The businessman, who also runs TC Compilimpex company on thewood market, with 400 employees, last year posted total turnoverworth 81.5m euros, with 75% coming from agriculture. This year, thegroup's turnover is expected to reach 62m euros, as much asgenerated by the farming business alone in 2008.
As for Romanian agriculture, Culita Tarata outlines a gloomypicture: this year, farmers will cultivate only half of the autumnrapeseed, wheat and barley areas because of the lack of financing,with next year's production to be hence even lower than thisyear's.
"Farmers are decapitalised. I don't know whether half of thearea cultivated in autumn will be sowed this year unless farmersare compensated for the losses caused by drought in the 2008-2009agricultural year (...)," Culita Tarata says.
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