Agriculture Minister Barbu: Romania becomes largest egg producer in region, boosts poultry exports by 17%

Romania became the largest egg producer in the region in 2024 and increased its poultry meat exports by 17%, Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said on Monday during the debate in the Chamber of Deputies on the no-confidence motion submitted by AUR against him.

‘In 2024, Romania became the largest egg producer in the region and increased its poultry meat exports by 17%. Through the farms we have developed over the past two years, we provide 8.7 million rearing places, which means that Romania’s annual broiler production has increased by 100 million chicks. Today, Romania produces 590 million chicks per year, ensuring full domestic consumption as well as significant quantities for export to countries such as Italy, France and the United Kingdom,’ Barbu said.

He also highlighted that in the pig sector, with the completion of breeding farms, an additional 1.5 million piglets will be produced this year.

Florin Barbu added that the ministry will continue to invest in the sector to ensure domestic consumption is covered by local production. While he remains Agriculture Minister, he intends to continue the programme, reducing reliance on EU imports. Previously, piglets imported from the EU cost 125 euros each, whereas domestic production brings the cost down to 50 euros, retaining over 200 million euros annually within Romania rather than letting it leave the pockets of local farmers. These investments over the past two years are reflected in production levels.

According to the minister, last year meat production saw substantial growth across all sectors: 12.2% for beef, 9.2% for pork, 62.2% for sheep and goat meat, and 8.7% for poultry.

‘These are official figures published by the National Institute of Statistics, not slogans. They are the result of support for Romanian production. So I ask you, signatories of this motion: whose interests are you defending? Those upset that Romania is becoming a key player in food processing in Southeast Europe? Are you bothered that profit margins for the food mafia have decreased? That Romania has become the largest producer of chicken meat in the European Union? Is that why they want me removed? Let me be clear: I will wage war on anyone who thinks there is a mafia cartel in the food industry and agro-food trade in Romania,’ Florin Barbu said.

The no-confidence motion submitted by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) MPs was debated on Monday and will be put to a vote at the session on Wednesday, 22 October, the Permanent Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies decided.

The AUR MPs submitted the motion against the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Florin Ionut Barbu, titled ‘When you cultivate lies, you reap shame. A cry for the salvation of Romanian agriculture from the hands of incompetence.’ AGERPRES (RO – writing by: Mariana Nica; EN – writing by: Simona Iacob)