Argedava Novaci Agricultural Cooperative, which cultivates a total of 800 hectares of land in several counties around Bucharest, plans to invest EUR 8 million in an onion storage and conditioning facility to capitalize on the price differential between the period of overproduction and spring – when Romania imports onion heavily from the Netherlands mainly.

"Romania currently produces between 30 and 40% of its consumption. The biggest problem is that we do not have conditioning and storage capacities because this vegetable needs some ventilation cells for storage. However, these cells cost a lot," explained Ionuţ Vochin, president of the cooperative and executive director of Oxigen Agro Product Company, part of Argedava Novaci, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

According to the latest data, Romania imports over 80,000 tonnes of onions annually from the Netherlands or other countries of the European Union.

The annual production, which exceeds 300,000 tonnes, does not manage to cover the consumption needs because Romania does not have warehouses to preserve onions for longer periods. Consequently, part of the production never reaches the market.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Robert Gerhardt/Dreamstime.com)