Cum poate profita Romania de scumpirea alimentelor

Autor: Vasile Coman
2008-03-16 16:34

Alimentele din toata lumea s-au scumpit cu nu mai putin de 40% pe parcursul anului trecut, releva o statistica data publicitatii de Charles Riemenschneider, directorul de investitii din cadru FAO (Organizatia Natiunilor Unite pentru Agricultura si Alimentatie), cu ocazia conferintei organizate in 10 martie de BERD si FAO avand ca tema lupta impotriva inflatiei pretului la alimente.

Cresterea puternica a pretului alimentelor in intreaga lume afecteaza consumatorii, mai cu seama pe cei din tarile in curs de dezvoltare, printre care se afla si Romania, fapt care obliga guvernele sa ia masuri, adesea restrictive, precum controlul preturilor si cotelor de export, releva un comunicat al BERD (vezi originalul mai jos).

Situatia reprezinta insa o oportunitate unica pentru tarile din Europa de Est de a profita si de a (re)deveni puteri in sectorul agricol. Sa nu uitam de mitul Romaniei care se mandrea odata ca fiind una dintre puterile agricole ale Europei.

O agricultura care este acum cenusareasa econonomiei romanesti, in conditiile in care aceasta a avut o contributie negativa importanta anul trecut la revenirea inflatiei. In plus, productia agricola interna este cu mult sub cererea tot mai mare de alimente, stimulata de consumul galopant, fapt care determina cresterea importurilor si adancirea deficitului comercial.

Peisajul dezolant al agriculturii romanesti este incheiat de lipsa unei strategii guvernamentale prioritara si coerenta pentru dezvoltarea acestui sector, in care investitiile publice si private nu se observa.

Astfel, agricultura Romaniei este dependenta in cea mai mare parte de conditiile meteorologice. Dupa cum se exprima si guvernatorul BNR, Mugur Isarescu, doar un an fara seceta poate insema si un an agricol bun, dupa cum anul trecut, unul secetos, a reprezentat un dezastru pentru agricultura.

In aceste conditii raman serioase semne de intrebare daca Romania va putea profita de aceasta oportunitate unica, dupa cum o considera BERD.

O sansa in plus, deci, pentru competitorii tarii noastre, precum Rusia sau Ucraina. Si de ce nu, Moldova.

Potrivit BERD, Rusia, Ukraina si Kazakhstan detin 23 de milioane de hectare de teren arabil neexploatate de la caderea comunismului!

O mare parte din aceasta suprafata de teren uriasa ar putea fi din nou exploatata, cu mare usurinta si fara probleme de mediu, fiind singura regiune de pe glob in care este atat de usor sa faci terenurile sa produca eficient.

Si se pare ca asa se va intampla. Reprezentantul Ucrainei la conferinta BERD a spus ca tara sa si-ar putea tripla productia agricola, dar in conditiile unor investitii de aproximativ 80 de miliarde de euro in utilaje, ingrasaminte, pesticide, seminte, combustibil si personal calificat.

Fighting food inflation

EBRD/FAO conference on unlocking region’s agricultural potential

The rising cost of key foodstuffs is hurting consumers across the world and putting pressure on governments to take action, often in the form of restrictive measures such as price controls and export quotas.

As well as posing problems, however, this situation presents the eastern Europe with a unique opportunity to become an agribusiness powerhouse. To work out ways of tapping into the region’s potential, dozens of representatives from business and government came together at EBRD headquarters in London on 10 March 2008 to attend an EBRD/FAO-sponsored conference that brought together international financial institutions as well as public and private sector from the former Eastern bloc. “There is now an urgent need for both the private and public sectors to work together to create the conditions for sustainable investment that will restore the primacy of this region as a crucial centre of agricultural production,” EBRD President Jean Lemierre told the conference.

The recent rise in food prices has become a global concern. On the supply side, droughts and other natural disasters have reduced output while the expansion of biofuel crops has taken land out of food production. Meanwhile, demand has increased due to population growth in China, India and Africa and rising standards of living, meaning consumers are buying more meat and dairy products.

Action needed

The urgency of the situation was underlined when Charles Riemenschneider, the Director of the FAO’s Investment Centre, noted that worldwide food prices rose nearly 40 per cent between December 2006 and December 2007. “Food is a much higher percentage of the consumer basket in transition countries than in other European countries so food price inflation has more impact on consumers.”

At the same time, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan have 23 million hectares of arable land that have not been used for food production since the collapse of communism. “Much of this unused land can be brought back to production without environmental problems,” said FAO Senior Adviser Eugenia Serova. “This is the only region in the world where it is so easy to bring land into production and increase productivity.”

Nevertheless, as Ms Serova pointed out, certain challenges need to be met before this potential can be realized: the region’s land tenure system lacks transparency, deterring businesses from making long-term investments; intellectual property rights are insufficiently developed, limiting the breeding industry; and training and research and development are weak.

Boris Supikhnov, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy, reassured the conference that draft laws were going through the Ukrainian parliament to address land market issues. He added that although Ukraine was benefiting from the rising demand for biofuels, it was eager to boost its food production to help tackle food price inflation.

Three-fold expansion

Leonid Kozachenko, President of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, said the country could triple its agricultural production but added that this would require an investment of some €80 billion in machinery, fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, fuel and training.

President Lemierre identified infrastructure as the main bottleneck to investment in the region. “Agri-processing is needed in remote areas, transport is needed."

Food company representatives took it in turns to outline some of the obstacles they face when trying to invest in the Bank’s countries of operations. These included difficulties in dealing with local authorities and an apparent lack of coordination between regional officials and policy makers in central government. “We never know who the right person to talk to is,” one investor complained.

Market-driven solutions

Others expressed concern about the impact of price caps and export quotas on their investments. “The private sector has to be able to make money in order to help unleash potential,” one business leader said. “Export blocks won’t help. They force us to look for other options.” In response, Mr Riemenschneider advocated a twin-track approach, with safety nets for the poorest consumers and policies to encourage productivity. “Price controls are a short-run solution.”

Concluding the conference, President Lemierre said guests had created an “amazing incentive for us to move the agenda and make sure the potential in the region is used.
“You are committed to your industries but also your regions and countries. People do realise what you do, they understand the challenges and know they need you,” he added. “We shall implement the lessons of the day.”

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