The Vegetable Sector In Romania – Competitiveness In A European Context

In the year 2016, Romania ranked 5th in the European Union as regards the area cultivated with vegetables and 10th in terms of vegetable production, which reflects productivity differences between Romania and the developed countries of the European Union. This paper presents the effects produced by Romania’s accession to the European Union on the vegetable sector in Romania, in the period 2007-2016, analyzing the following aspects: evolution of areas cultivated with vegetables, both in the field and in greenhouses and plastic tunnels, of production in physical and value terms, of exports and imports, evolution of the average procurement prices for the main species of vegetables. From the analyses it resulted that the areas cultivated with vegetables in greenhouses and plastic tunnels account for only 1.8% of total areas under vegetables, although these increased by 92% in the year 2016 compared to 2007, mainly due the support measures from European funds for certain species of vegetables. In these conditions, the domestic supply of vegetables does not cover the consumption needs, uniformly throughout the year, having rather a seasonal character.