Romania has recorded record grain productions in recent years, but despite the high productions, the statistics provided by the European Commission show that Romania obtained, on average, for the whole country, a lower yield than the European one.
Average wheat yield – 4,79 tons/hectare. In the EU – 5,63 tons/hectare
EU average yield = 5,63 tons/hectare for wheat production. Source: European Commission
The average yield obtained by Romania for the production of common wheat in 2018 is 4,79 tons/hectare, slightly below the average of the European Union, which recorded an average yield of 5,63 tons/hectare. In 2018, compared to 2017, the average yield of the Romanian production of common wheat decreased by 1,9%, while the production increased by 1,1%, in the conditions of the increase of the cultivated area by 3,1%.
In 2017, compared to 2016, the average yield of wheat production was higher by 23,9%, production by 19%, while the cultivated area decreased by 4%, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics.
In first place in the European Union, there is Ireland with 8,7 tons of wheat/hectare, the highest average in the EU, and at the opposite pole is Portugal with an average yield of 2,3 tons/hectare, without taking into account Cyprus , with the lowest yield (1,7 tons/hectare), but also with special conditions.
The European Commission requests the revision of the reported figures
In terms of corn production, Romania recorded record productions in the past years, but the ongoing investigation of the European Commission calls these figures into question. For now, European agricultural statistics provide us with a number of elements regarding the average yield of cereal production.
Regarding corn crops, despite the high productions in recent years, the statistics provided by the European Commission show that Romania obtained, on average, for the whole country, a lower yield than the European one.
Thus, in the 2018 corn harvest, the average yield in Romania was 7,79 tons/hectare, based on the data communicated by the Romanian authorities. The European average was 8,35 tons/hectare. The most efficient productions were obtained by Spain – 10,8 tons/hectare, Austria – 10,1 tons/hectare, Greece – 9,8 tons/hectare, Italy – 9,8 tons/hectare, Slovenia – 9,4 tons /hectare, Croatia – 9,1 tons/hectare.
Sweden (4,19 tonnes/hectare), the United Kingdom (4,56) and Denmark (5,7) are at the bottom of the ranking.
Investigated by the European Commission on the suspicion that it erroneously reported the data on the production of corn from the years 2017 and 2018, Romania presents itself as follows. In maize, official data show an increase in production yield, in 2018 compared to 2017, by 28,3%, at a 30,3% higher production, while the cultivated area increased by only 1,6% , according to official data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
In 2017, compared to 2016, the yield for maize production, officially communicated, increased by 43,3%, production by 33,3%, while the cultivated area decreased by 6,9%. The figures are surprising and, justifiably, the European Commission requested the Romanian authorities to revise them.
Maize productions obtained by Romania in 2017 and 2018 "they are real", said the Minister of Agriculture, Petre Daea, for Agerpres, in response to the European Commission last week.
"The initial data on corn production obtained by Romania in 2017 and 2018 are real. Every time we are in correspondence with the European Commission. It is a routine exercise and it is information that we transmit frequently and that we agree on in such a way that the interpretation is unified and the figures that are communicated by the National Institute of Statistics confirm the reality of the productions in Romania", Petre Daea said.
