After the Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, said that food is cheaper abroad, Euronews compared the prices of basic foods in Romania and Germany. In the end, it turned out that some goods, such as milk for example, are of a much higher value in Romania, but others, such as sugar, are cheaper.

However, such analyzes look at individual goods without taking into account the standard and purchasing power of the population. If we measure this indicator, we will see that the difference between the minimum wage in Romania and Germany is close to 1,000 euros.

According to the National Statistical Institute, Romania had the cheapest food in the European Union in 2022, but not so with purchasing power. Romania is at the bottom of the ranking, along with Portugal and Hungary, and only Bulgaria ranks below them.

These data prompted the government to take swift action. After capping the trade markup for processors, distributors and retailers, the government is preparing other moves to reduce the final price of food.

Marcel Ciolacu, Prime Minister of Romania: "We have started discussions with processors in Romania to discuss options to further lower prices. It is normal that if the goods are produced in Romania, they are even cheaper."

The new Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, announced his program and emphasized the irrigation system in Romania and revealed the schedule of investments that will be made in the next period.

He promised that farmers for whom irrigation is a priority will be able to purchase irrigation equipment with 70% state money and 30% own participation. "Furthermore, we have agreed and I believe that I will find the necessary solutions and amounts so that the farmers can purchase, under a scheme with 30% participation of the beneficiaries, irrigation equipment. We want more than 2.5 million hectares to be fully irrigated", the minister also pointed out.

In terms of trade, at the beginning of the week the prices of grain for delivery to the port of Constanta were: bread wheat - 205 EUR/ton, feed wheat - 196 EUR/ton, corn - 179 EUR/ton, barley - 175 EUR/ton, sunflower – 385 dollars/ton.