April 24, 2012

Romania's rapeseed crops seriously damaged by frost

Out of the 2.57 million hectares sown last autumn, nearly 350,000 hectares of crops in Romania were destroyed last year by the harsh winter with the rapeseed crops having been the most seriously damaged, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) reports.

"Out of the total area sown last autumn with wheat, rye, triticale, barely, two-row barely and rapeseed, only 2.22 million hectares are still standing. As much as 284,000 hectares of rapeseed crops, out of a total of 350,000 hectares, were destroyed by winter, along with nearly 36,000 hectares of wheat, rye and triticale, 24,000 hectares of barely and 8,000 hectares of two-row barely," MADR indicates in a report.

"We are expecting the area under wheat still standing, of 1.9 million hectares, to cover Romania's domestic demand and provide some for export. As far as the rapeseed crops are concerned, they were 77% damaged, with juts nearly 85,000 hectares still standing. The small areas under rapeseed this spring will not be able to compensate for the winter loss, with farmers now choosing other crops instead," says MADR.

The area planned for sowing with corn in 2012 will be by 45,000 hectares larger than in 2011. In 2001, Romania ranked first in the EU in terms of areas under corn, at 2.63 million hectares. MADR is expecting the areas under sugar beet to be by 4,000 hectares larger in 2012 than the 2001's 19,000 hectares, while the land under soy will increase by 1,000 hectares from the 2011's 69,000 hectares. MADR is also estimating one million hectares of sunflower to be sown in 2012, an area almost equal to that of last year.

The total area planned to be sown this spring is standing at 5.88 million hectares, with 20% of the area, or 1.176 million hectares, having been sown as of April 11. Among the spring crops this year, 45% of the total area will be sown with corn and 17% with sunflower.

Data with the National Statistics Institute indicate that Romania's yields of grain cereals increased by 24.4% in 2011, from 16.713 million tonnes in 2010 to 20.785 million tonnes in 2011, with the grain corn and grain wheat being the most widely grown, at 49.8% and 36.8%, respectively, of the total area under grain cereals.