Romania - Agricultural biotechnology, annual report

Over the past years, Romania remained open to biotechnology, for testing, importing and cultivating. Despite all the bureaucracy who results from applying both EU and national regulations, farmers remain attached to modern technologies. According to the latest information, the planted area with biotech corn (MON 810) expanded in 2013 four times compared to the previous year, from 217 hectares to 834 hectares. Unlike the previous year, when seed propagation was the purpose of the crop, in 2013 commercialization is the purpose of the crop.

Soybean remains one of the most valuable feed ingredients for the livestock and poultry domestic industry. The low domestic availability led to increasing imports of biotech soybean for the livestock and poultry industry. Total soybeans and soya meal imports grew in 2012 by 11.5 percent, reaching about 545,000 MT ($275 million), of which soybeans meal solely totaled 482,000 MT ($237 million). The major suppliers are the large biotech producing countries: Brazil, Argentina, and United States (47,000 MT exported in 2012, from only 21,000 MT soybean meal exported in 2010 and zero in 2011).

Field-testing of bioengineered seeds is permitted in Romania. Appendix 2 provides the list of events approved in 2013 for field trials (corn and plum trees).

Import permits for biotech seeds are required only for the first shipment, based on the import approval issued each year by the Ministry of Agriculture for the imported types of seeds.

In February 2013, in an attempt to achieve an expansion in the area cultivated with soybeans, Romanian Ministry of Agriculture signed the Danube Soya Declaration, a private initiative supported by the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, aiming to reduce the European dependence on imported soybean products.

The opposition to biotechnology has expressed its views at the level of Parliament. In February this year, one member of the Chamber of Deputies placed for debate a draft law intended to prohibit the cultivation and importation of biotech products or products containing GE ingredients. The draft is currently with the Chamber of Deputies, after the Romanian Senate rejected the proposal in May 2013.

The report details can be found here.