Agriculture: Agricultural companies post second highest turnover growth in last decade 

  Romania's agricultural companies posted the second largest nominal annual increase in the last 10 years, of over RON 8 billion, reaching a historic high of RON 68 billion in 2022, which is 48% over that of 2018, according to KeysFin annual study "Romanian Agricultural Sector."For 2023, KeysFin analysts estimate the continued growth of the sector and thus exceeding the record level reached in 2022, close to the RON 80 billion threshold, based on the persistence of inflationary pressures and the estimated increase in annual crop production of 24%, the third largest annual advance among member states as forecasted by the General Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Development from the European Commission this year."Although for 2023 we estimate the continuation of the sector growth, we point to the need to prioritise investment in infrastructure and modernisation of this sector, so that Romania remains a net exporter of agricultural produce, after in the year of the pandemic it became a net importer for the first time in the last 10 years. As a strategic direction, we should follow the example of Poland, namely invest in processing, so that in the long term we have a positive balance of international trade with agri-food products, which has a higher added value," says Diana Florescu, economic analyst KeysFin, a leading provider of business information solutions in Romania.According to KeysFin specialists, the number of companies that reported their financial results in 2022 remained close to that of the previous year, namely 26.5 thousand companies (based on data extracted in September 2023).The net result increased by 13% compared with 2021 and was 131% above that of 2018, to the record level of over RON 9.2 billion in 2022. Of the 26.5 thousand companies that reported their financial results, about 16.7 thousand made a profit (63%), 7 thousand were at a loss (26.3%) and the rest recorded a zero result in 2022.As a direct impact of the transmission of inflationary pressures, the value of crop production in the European Union increased by 15% in 2022 from the previous year, despite a decrease in harvested volumes according to Eurostat data: grain maize (-29%), sunflower (-11%), soybeans (-8.1%) and wheat (-3.1%), with rapeseed being among the few crops that posted an annual advance (+14.5%).The "Romanian Agricultural Sector" study covers all companies that reported their annual results to the Ministry of Finance and had as their main area of business one of the following NACE groups: Plant and animal husbandry - 011, 012, 013, 014, 015, 016, 017; Fisheries - 031, 032 and Forestry - 021, 022, 023, 024.