Drought cuts Romanian grain, sunseed output in 2022 -stats office

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BUCHAREST, March 31 (Reuters) – Romania’s production of wheat, maize and sunseed fell by double digits in 2022, driven by weather and higher production costs, preliminary data from the National Statistics Board showed on Friday.

The European Union state put 2.18 million hectares under wheat and reaped 8.6 million tonnes of wheat in 2022, down 18% from a bumper harvest in the previous year.

Its maize harvest stood at 8.2 million tonnes, down 44.7%, while sunseed production was 2.08 million tonnes, down 27%.

It exports through the port of Constanta, which Ukraine has been using as an alternative route since Russia blocked its Black Sea ports.

But logistical bottlenecks mean that large quantities of Ukrainian grains, which are cheaper than those produced in the EU, have ended up in central European states, including Romania, hurting prices and sales by local farmers.

Earlier this week, the Polish and Romanian prime ministers said they were in talks with the European Commission over export tracing mechanisms for Ukrainian grains to ensure local farmers are not hurt by a flood of cheap imports.

The Commission has estimated farmers from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia have lost 417 million euros overall from the flow of cheaper Ukrainian grains into their markets.

It will hand out compensation worth 56.3 million euros to Polish, Bulgarian and Romanian farmers, with more planned.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; editing by Jason Neely)

((luiza.ilie@thomsonreuters.com; +4021 527 0312;

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