In 2024, Romania’s cereal production reached its lowest level in a decade, totaling 17.87 million tons, a 14.7% decrease from 2023, according to Economica’s report on May 7. The decline, observed across various crops, was attributed to challenging weather conditions, water scarcity, and increased production costs impacting agricultural yields.

Wheat production slightly decreased to 9.29 million tons from 9.6 million tons in 2023. Maize experienced a more significant drop, falling to 5.99 million tons from 8.5 million tons the previous year. In contrast, barley and barley groats saw a modest increase, reaching 2.19 million tons, while oats production declined to 145,000 tons from 155,000 tons.

Oilseed crops also faced substantial reductions, with total output dropping 28% to 2.95 million tons. Sunflower production fell 34% to 1.49 million tons, soybean output slightly decreased to 295,000 tons from 300,000 tons, and rapeseed harvests significantly declined to 1.16 million tons from 1.7 million tons in 2023.

Production of other grains, including minor cereals, decreased by 30%, reaching 126,000 tons compared to 164,000 tons in 2023. Vegetable and potato harvests followed a similar trend, with vegetable production falling to 2.06 million tons from 2.4 million tons and potato output dropping to 968,000 tons from just over 1 million tons in the prior year.

A representative from the National Institute of Statistics noted: “The 2024 harvest reflects the impact of adverse climatic conditions and resource constraints, which have posed significant challenges for farmers.” These factors have broadly affected Romania’s agricultural sector, leading to reduced yields across multiple crop types.