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In order to study the consumer buying behavior for bakery of Iasi county population (purchasing criteria, favorite brands and types, quantities purchased and consumed) a statistical survey was conducted in 2012 by the survey method with the written questionnaire. The main objectives of the study were represented by: highlighting acquisition criteria and factors influencing consumption of bakery products; revealing the varieties of bread consumed in terms of quality and quantity; identify the main bakery brands acquired; specifying the buying motivations and determinants of bread consumption pattern from the consumer's point of view; determine the conditions of the purchase in grocery stores and buyer satisfaction. The main reason for buying certain bakery was given by the product quality (54.90%) while the products influence on health was the main motivation for 22.22% of the subjects. A particular pattern of consumption for bakery products can be determined mainly by consumption behavior of the family (especially parents) in view of 26.8 % of respondents, household income (29.41%), food needs and/or diet (27.45%). Consumers targeted by the undertaken survey are loyal to a certain brand of bread products (44.4%), most rural people stating that the brand is not one of the main criteria of choice. Information on the label are considered to be very important in the process of purchasing for 31.4% of respondents, quite important for 28.8 %, while 9.8 % said they are unimportant. In the Iasi County, the supermarkets develops their own brands, offering fresh and a wide range of products, generally disposed in a specially designed bakery space and with an attractive visual layout, while maintaining and diversifying local or regional manufacturers brands. The quantities of bread and bakery products bought in Romania by a household decreased during the analyzed period (2007-2012), at nation level registered successive declines, ranging in 2012 at 7.66 kg/month/person, respectively at 91.92 kg/year/person, the highest consumption being in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wine market is a mature market, strongly influenced by favorable or unfavorable developments, determined by dietary patterns and consumers' buying behavior. Market behavior seems to be determined by the slogan "drink less, but drink better". (Chiran A. et al., 2004). Wine market comprises several segments. The most important segment is represented by stabilized wines, which can be divided into several groups: average to mediocre quality wines and top-quality wines with strict specifications and regulations. Wine market, in general, but, in particular, the European market, is characterized by structural surpluses. The wine distribution system shows the same pattern everywhere in the world, being highly fragmented, with a large number of retailers, finding a shift in the distributed quantities through wholesale channels (hotels, restaurants) to retail distribution channels for the domestic consumer (supermarket chains), which allows improving product competitiveness by price and favors modern consumption patterns and purchasing behavior. Another feature of the wine market is the significant share that cooperative societies hold, which uses European markets and, also, the North American ones, as product providers and as an end market for alcoholic products. Table wine consumption continues a traditionalist trend, represented by rural life, while quality wine market developments expresses rupture from the traditionalist tendencies (Liliana Rotaru et al., 2011). In the wine marketing policy, the growing consumers' health concerns play a vital role. With alcohol fighting organizations' movements, a new ideology that aims towards eating healthy foods, which include wines, has been developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marketing activity is, in most cases, the main element that makes the difference between companies that compete in the same markets, regardless of their field. Given the increasingly strong competition, differentiating brands in consumers' minds is achieved mainly through marketing strategies and how they are implemented in the market. Food companies, including those in Romania, do not deviate from this rule and give a growing importance to marketing activities. For these actions to be effective, companies must ensure that the marketing process is correlated with the market requirements and company objectives and possibilities, according to a strict and realistic schedule which is made in advance and with clear deployment stages. In this paper, the authors have proposed to highlight the importance of developing a marketing plan, in which all planned marketing activities the company wants to achieve within a certain period would be listed. The case study was conducted at S.C. KOSAROM S.A. Paşcani, one of the most important producers of meat and meat products in eastern and northeastern Romania. Within the developed marketing plan, the following milestones were considered: the objectives, the target customer segments, the competitive platform and tools for communication with the market and proposals for various campaigns: an integrated campaign for Easter, a sales activation campaign during summer, an educational campaign in the autumn and a winter holidays campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development and efficiency strategy of agricultural production in a certain area is based on the analysis of the economic and financial situation of the agricultural sector, which should take into account the adoption of those measures aimed primarily at increasing agricultural production and, secondly, making it more efficient by accessing European funds (1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 24). These measures will have a major influence on increasing the efficiency of the Romanian agriculture by promoting farmers' managerial and marketing skills and orientation of farming activities to profitable investment, including integrated projects, by accessing EU funds (5, 6, 10, 15, 16). National Rural Development Programme is the instrument through which the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP) can be accessed, which complies with the strategic guidelines of the EU rural development (15,20). Achieving the desired objectives of the National Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 is provided by the Managing Authority for P.N.D.R., namely the General Directorate of Rural Development, belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in its actual form, consumes, through the complex system of subsidies and other financial incentives, about half of the common budget and is built around two pillars: the first is the common market organizations and covers common regulation measures of agricultural products integrated markets functioning, and the second, which gained magnitude in the past decade, is rural development and includes structural measures that target a harmonious rural development (diversification of activities, product quality, environmental protection) (24). Accessing European funds for agriculture and rural development is closely linked to the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture, which operates in three main areas, developing support measures financed from the national budget and European funds (6.16): a) direct payments and market measures; b) some measures financed from European funds for agriculture and rural development, established by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; c) payments which represent financial support from the national budget. Through the presented paper, the authors have proposed to highlight the main aspects that characterize the evolution of Botosani county's agriculture after Romania's adherence to the European Union (8, 11, 12, 22). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that there is no such thing as a well defined market for wine, as there are no typical wine consumers. Wine market consists of several segments that are influenced by demographics, psychographics and the context in which it is consumed. Given the complex nature of the product itself, but also of the market, wine is one of the consumer products that are most difficult to address from a marketing perspective. Understanding how consumers choose a brand of wine continues to be a complex problem. Wine is a product that generates confusion among consumers, due to the large number of indexes on the label, such as brand name, region or grape variety. Unlike most foods products, wine taste may vary in a given year depending on the harvest, even if the brand and other extrinsic information remain the same. For other food categories, consumers easily switch between different brands according to market share and are not very concerned about the differences in taste or quality behind the labels. The study on which this paper is based aimes to analyze the wine consumers' behavior from the Iasi market. Research objectives include: evaluating the main characteristics of the wine purchasing behavior, determination of preferences regarding the main characteristics of the product, evaluation of the main characteristics of consumer behavior and identifying features of the acquisition, consumption and preferences based on gender, age, education, number of family members and income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes is to analyze the current situation and prospects of the Romanian agricultural and rural economy and to recommend actions to reduce potential risks of fully integration of Romanian agricultural economy in the rural economy of the European Union. This paper tries to provide an updated the agricultural diagnosis and rural development in Romania and assess the global implications on the rural economy diversification and create new jobs. The subject includes theoretical addressing agricultural management system and characteristics of the studied phenomena, directed and coordinated contemporary management. Recent research shows that changes in agriculture and rural development are reflected in the economic downturn, the occurrence of demographic problems (increased distances between work and home, low rural population), changes in social structure, refocusing on value systems, pressures arising ecosystems, destruction of cultural heritage areas, and reducing income disparity, changing habitat preferences (second homes in the village). Integrating agriculture into the market economy, technical and economic modernization is done with great difficulty due to various reasons: lack of capital and a well organized credit system, inadequate material resources, dependence on upstream prices due to high input sites industrial and agricultural nature, but also downstream, and following the disruption of agricultural contracting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Romania's EU entry conditions, the development of free trade on the market, the integrated livestock units were forced to adapt and protect its trademarks and products, national, community and international level. At the same time, the brand has proved to be a very important element for any business, has become a strategic element with its own value and independence, that is becoming more pronounced and an integral part of any marketing and management strategy. Over time, the economic importance of brands has increased in direct proportion with increasing the role of advertising and the development of world and international trade. The brand has shown its importance by the ability to attract and preserve clients; it is an essential element of business customer growth. The trademark is the most valuable intangible intellectual assets of the company. The value of the brands as assets must be maintained and that companies must realize that managing with success a brand is essential for its survival. The certificate of trademark is the ownership act, which gives the holder an exclusive right to the brand for a period of 10 years, and after this period the mark has to be renewed for other periods of 10 years. The paper aims as objective, the methods identification that could influence the increase of market share through design, approval and protection of trademarks, based on a case study conducted at SC "AVI-TOP" S.A. Războieni-Iasi. Based on these methods, can be design a system for choosing the most efficient mix of brands in the portfolio of products, according to the distribution channels used by the company. Since the establishment of the company, its brands have been fundamental in achieving a successful economic outcome. The company currently owns four successful brands, which are serving the regional market of the northeast region of the country. Obviously, the success is due to the fact that each brand is consumer oriented and as they evolve, the marketing and branding of the company must also evolve. The rhythm of this development is accelerating every day and this is one of the factors that generate not only new opportunities but also new challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating a performing management in agriculture, as in any branch of the national economy is possible only knowing the perfect evolution of various economic and financial phenomena during a year of activity, their variation from the provisions and the dynamic evolution. Based on these data, corrective measures of the negative findings can be determined and extending the positive ones, to raise to a top speed the return of all financial and economic activities of farms, at the level of competitiveness imposed by the requirements and the market economic demands. Such competence can be gained through economic and financial analysis on the farm activities. Theoretically, the economic and financial analysis, study the methodology of financial and economical knowledge of the agricultural enterprise, the factors and causes that caused it, and internal reserves to improve results through more efficient use of available resources. Basically, economic and financial analysis tool acts as a scientific research of farms. It is equally a diagnostic function - helping to highlight various economic and financial results in terms of causal relations that have determined the stage requirements, and also a control function - helping to improve these results. The study was conducted in S.C. AGRO INTERNATIONAL S.R.L Galati, who owns a farm specialized in raising dairy cows located in the Braniştea village, Galati county, and was based on the following system of indicators: -total expenditure by category of animal; production cost and selling prices; total revenue and grants, by category of animals; net profit and net return rate on total farm activity; gross profit and gross return rate on total farm activity; gross profit and gross return rate on types of activities (operating activities, financing activities and exceptional activity); gross profit and gross return rate on organizational structure; gross profit and gross return rate on various products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of agricultural structures and projection optimal size is a necessity in rural areas of prime importance for the Romanian agriculture, both as a theoretical issue and practical implications of this phenomenon, regarding the current state of agriculture in the NE region and increased plots properties. The problem of determining optimal land structures is present in Romania, even after seventh land reform, when instead of merged land mass; it was sprayed, under the concept of constitution and reconstitution of the property in about 48 million parcels. In addition, it appears that households made (according to Law 18/1991, from 0.5 to 10 ha on average 2.5 ha) is unsustainable. Creating viable farms with medium size, after model and methods from Western European countries, in Romania is more difficult because there was the "tradition" that every land reform have mission to destroy accumulation of land, as happened particularly in land reform in 1945 (which destroyed large and medium reservoirs farms), land reform for cooperatives from 1949 to 1962 (which destroyed reservoirs farms) and finally the land reform of 1990 to 1991 (which destroyed the collections made in the agricultural cooperatives and inter-cooperative associations). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using and developing models to simulate the operation of the farm is a tradition and a very extensive practice both in Romania and abroad. This paper addresses the adjustment of agricultural sector development strategy NE region of Romania, and national level, common agricultural policies, government support measures for supporting agriculture and ways to improve the structural reform of agriculture in international integration processes. Also described are the main indicators characterizing the technical and economic analysis of agricultural holdings and to solve a problem of optimizing the size of a farm. Knowledge of national and EU funding for agriculture and rural development, the advantages and constraints that apply to CAP uniform throughout the Community, the requirements of the new CAP reforms in line with market developments, are issues that require constant adjustment of management actions, circumscribed the ultimate goal of all activities, namely the increase of agricultural holdings and thus farmers' incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, agriculture has become intensive with an increased specialization of farms and regions. By increasing the productive capacity of soil and crop yields, by using fertilizers and plant protection products, agriculture has reached a stage where it is possible to obtain short term profitability of farms but on a long term, a negative impact on the environment. The main problems encountered are: negative effects on human health, contamination of surface and ground water due to nitrates and phosphates, compaction, soil erosion and degradation of landscape and wildlife habitat as a result of concentration of farms, development of monocultures, dismantling green fences and terraces, wet land drainage, etc. People living near a farm are likely to be exposed to pesticide droplets in the air and the water consumption or contaminated food. In this paper were identified and analyzed the existing main pollutants factors of air in vegetable farms specialized in cereals. To estimate emissions of greenhouse gases in a cereal farm, it was conducted a case study. The main factors identified as agricultural pollutants are: pesticides, odors, smoke, dust, pollen allergen and waste. The existing corn production technology in the focus company emphasizes the minimizing of CO2 emissions. Thus, the dose of chemical fertilizer is determined by soil analysis that is performed annually and the recommendations of specialists. Also, vegetal waste are chopped and incorporated, which significantly reduces the amount of CO2 emissions. The total amount of emissions is estimated at approx. 2.35 tonnes of CO2 per hectare of corn and 0.94 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of corn. Most emissions are from fertilizer, about 56.6% of the total. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If before 1989, Romania was one of the countries with the largest physical size of farms, after 1989 it became one of the countries with the lowest physical size of these holdings. In 2007, the first year after EU accession, the physical size of farms was 3.5 ha, our country being on the penultimate place in the EU 27 (exceeded only Malta whose total area was only 11 000 ha). The opposite stood the Czech Republic, with 89.3 ha per holding. Putting the two former socialist countries on diametrically opposed positions is the following of different applied policy in the transition of agriculture to a market economy. While Romania has pursued restoration of what was formerly in agriculture, in the Czech Republic was considered foreshadowing the future of agriculture. Consequently, in Romania has resulted atomization of agricultural holdings and fragmentation of land which exceeds what was about 50-60 years before, in the interwar period and the Czech Republic - a concentration of agricultural holdings land that placed it at the forefront of EU countries. Romania's agricultural policy during the accession to the EU was facing, no doubt, at the enterprise or farm size, measured by the single criterion of land surface in use or existing livestock, some acts showing the orientation sided, narrow and exclusive. Thus, by the provisions of Emergency Ordinance no. 108 / 27 June 2001 on commercial farms, farms are considered only agricultural units which have at least 110 ha of arable land in the plain (ie 50 hectares in hilly area) or 15 cows or 5,000 meat poultry or 100 pigs etc. The criteria for sizing of large, medium or small farms don't have a unified approach to economic theory. However, the most commonly used are the following two criteria established by: the attracted resources in production (in physical units), with reference, first, on the average size of holdings land and, secondly, at livestock, tractors and agricultural machinery and other elements of the production factors; the results achieved (expressed in physical or monetary units), with reference to the quantities of final products or proceeds. The literature, in the majority inclined to physical parameters or reflects the inputs or results. In Galati, characteristic of farms distribution by physically class size, is very large share of farms under 5 ha - 97.23% of all farms in the southern of Galati county, against 96.57% in the county of Galati and higher share of holdings with 50 and over 50 hectares - 0.88% against 0.56% in Galati county. The authors have proposed, using a case study, to highlight the common agricultural policy impact on physical and economic size of farms in the southern of Galati county. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism represents today, undoubtedly one of the phenomenon's which dominates the contemporary world, one of the most profitable segments, of the global economy, unique, in its dynamics, multiple motivations and great variety of ways of manifestation. The aim of the paper is to present a general overview of the NE Region area regarding the touristic development, to show how were blended the physical and economic-geographical factors, to emphasize factitive the geographical landscape evolution as a result of the interaction of the genetic factors, to highlight the positive and negative action of the human on the natural frame and of tourism and to propose measures for systematization of the NE Region territory. The touristic arrangement of the NE Region area in Romania has an existence of over 100 years. Numerous associations and touristic pensions occurred since the period of the end of XIX century; they had outstanding contributions at equipping the NE Region tourist area. Gradually in the times until the December 1989, these actions were limited because of the prohibition of accommodation of foreign tourists to privates, being only few exceptions. The purpose of this study is to examine how the indicators which quantify the NE Region agro tourism Romania, aiming to eliminate weaknesses and strengths potentiation. In this sense it was the fact that, starting and running agro business requires a capital investment. For this reason, starting investment is preceded by a careful justification of expenditures, whether they are intended for new targets, or for improvement or interior and exterior refurbishments. The authors have proposed that assess the efficiency and effectiveness of agro-tourism activities to be completed by a budget analysis and a feasibility study. To define the nature of income, the results of different activities (agricultural, tourism, services, etc..) Will establish a budget revenue and expenditure showing the sources of revenue and cost of resources used. From this point of view, it will evaluate the annual receipts of tourists and the seasons, prices and costsprovided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Apuseni Mountains represent one of the most attractive tourist destination in Romania. The studied area comprises the territory of Arieşeni commune, which is placed in the northern part of Alba county and the holiday village named Vârtop, close to the border of Bihor county. The location represents a circle placed at equal distances from several big towns, such as: Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, Arad, Deva and Alba Iulia, therefore it represents an attraction for the tourists belonging to these areas. The population of Arieşeni commune counts 1810 inhabitans. It is distributed in 18 villages, whereby the most important villages are Casa de Piatră, Vârtop, Galbena and Bubeşti. The main elements of tourism attraction are: * the ski slope from Vârtop; * the climatic potential, which is favourable to hiking, climbing, mountaineering, winter sports, repose, relaxation etc., during both seasons: the summer and the winter. The statistics point out that the yearly average duration of the snow cover lasts 150 days, ensuring a schi season of 5 months each year; * Gârdişoara Gorges; Vârciorog Waterfall; Glacier Cave Vârtop; Crow Castle in Padis Plateau; Gura Apei Cave; Huda Orbului Cave; Hodobana Cave; Aven Cave with two entrances; Izbucul Tauzului Cave etc. There are also anthropic touristic resourses represented by museums, wooden churches, etnographic and folklore festivals. The tourism of repose and relaxation is practiced most during the summer time, being favoured by a very pleasant natural environment, the water and air purity, the altitude of over 800 m that ensures pleasant temperatures. The vegetation has a vertical distribution and contains deciduous forests, beech forests, mixed forests and valley subalpine meadows with a great variety of floristic composition. In Vârtop-Arieşeni area, there is evidence of 88 guesthouses, having a tourist accommodation capacity of 1190 beds in 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]