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The paper analyzed Romania's agro-food export, import and trade balance with the EU-27 countries in the period 2013-2021 using the empirical evidence from National Institute of Statistics. Fixed basis and structural indices, as well as Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), Gini-Struck Index (GSI) and the Coefficient of Concentration (CC) were used to characterize the concentration degree of the agri-food trade. In 2021, export value accounted for Euro 5,471.8 Million, import value for Euro 8,459.7 Million and the trade balance registered a deficit of Euro -2,987.9 Million. The figures reflect an increase both in export and import, but import exceeded the export reflecting that Romania is a net importer of agro-food products. The highest market share in Romania's export is kept by Italy, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Hungary, France, Greece, Belgium and Poland, while the main import partners are Germany, Hungary, Poland, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, France, Greece and Belgium. The concentration degree both in case of export and import is small as proved by the values of HHI, ranging between 0.0845 and 0.0996 for export and between 0.1065 and 0.1106 for import. GSI values ranged between 0.2220 and 0.2406 for export and between 0.2687 and 0.2764 for import. CC values were below 0.5 also reflecting a competitive market. To diminish the dependence of imports, agro-food export has to be stimulated by the increase of agricultural production which has to provide more products with high value added and of a higher quality to enhance competitiveness, and also imports have to be revised and a better resource allocation is needed to strengthen internal production and cover better domestic consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzed the importance of production and import in food availabilities in Romania in the period 2015-2020, using the data provided by National Institute of Statistics. the following indicators were studied: total consumption, consumption per inhabitant, production, production/consumption rate, import, import/consumption rate, export, trade balance, import/export ratio, food availabilities, production share and import share in food availabilities, self-sufficiency rate. Dynamic analysis, mean, growth rate in 2020 versus 2015, comparisons were the main tools used for data processing. The results showed that consumption increased for fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and declined for potatoes, cereals, sugar and eggs, as consumers are more oriented to a healthier diet. Production increased for fruits (26.7%), meat(3.3%), potatoes (2.8%), but it declined for sugar (-65%), eggs (- 17%), milk (-5%), fish (-5%), and vegetables (-2.7%). In 2020 vs.2015, production covered consumption of cereals, potatoes, fruits, eggs and milk, but not for meat and fish. Imports increased for all the products, the growth rates varying between 136.7% for sugar and 17% for fish and cereals. The coverage rate of consumption by import was 101% for cereals, 97% for sugar, 91% for fish, 64% for fruits, 39% for meat, 38% for fats, 29% for potatoes, 23% for milk, 17% for vegetables and 10% for eggs. Agro-food export increased for all the products, but with a lower rate than import, resulting a negative trade balance, cereals and honey being excepted. Import/export ratio was the smallest for cereals (0.34), but high for the other products (21.5 for potatoes, 13.7 for fish, 12 for fruits, 10.1 for vegetables, 4 for milk, 3.8 for sugar, and 3.6 for meat). Self-sufficiency rate was over 100% for cereals and honey, and below 100% for all the other products, the lowest level being for fish and sugar. The share of import in food availabilities was 91% for fish, 89% for sugar, 39% for meat, 35.9% for fruits, 32.4% for cereals, 30% for fats, 20.7% for vegetables, 18.4% for milk, 17.6% for potatoes, and 8.1 % for eggs. As a conclusion, the high share of imports is a result of the incapacity of agricultural production to cover market needs for all the product categories. Farmers have to increase productivity, product quality, to join in associative forms, and create short supply food chains to sell their products. Imports are justified mainly in cases where production is not sufficient to cover the internal market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]