BNR's Isarescu: Romania still imports too many agricultural products

Romania still imports too many agricultural products relative to what can be produced naturally in the country, which shows that the potential is not yet fully capitalized on, said Mugur Isarescu, the governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), in a message transmitted as governor but also a vine grower, at the Annual Conference of the Romanian Farmers Club, an event held on Thursday at the Parliament Palace. The message was read by the chief economist of the BNR, Valentin Lazea.   "This activity has, in my opinion, a great potential for development. In my capacity as governor of the National Bank of Romania, an institution responsible for developing the balance of payments, by analyzing together with the colleagues from the Board of Directors the data from the commercial balance, I am up to date with the evolution of the contribution of agriculture, implicitly of the farmers, to the economic picture and I have seen the progress, especially from the last decade. I am, of course, also edified in terms of the challenges which you will certainly address here, among others those that must lead to evening the balance of goods produced in the country and of the imported ones, in order to capitalize on the natural and experience advantages of the agricultural activity. Romania still imports too many agricultural products relative to what can be produced naturally in the country, which shows that the potential is not yet fully capitalized on," the BNR governor said. He argued that an economic business based on production is the most delicate choice for anyone, but agriculture businesses are not only the most complicated, but also the ones that give the greatest satisfaction. Isarescu showed that he has a justification for his thoughts that he will convey to the farmers, namely his experience, "of course, limited", of a farmer in the field of vine and wine, while also telling how he managed to go into the wine business in the Dragasani area. In this context, Isarescu argues that each farmer must carefully choose his field, so that it allows him to have a minimum of competitiveness from the beginning, the natural conditions being those that provide a comparative advantage or not. "Success in agriculture depends, as in any business, on the effort and dedication put into promoting the business, to which is added perseverance and the understanding that the good years can be followed by the less good years. And here I am referring not only to the effort to ensure the capital, but also to ideas, innovations, passion and the time invested," says Isarescu. In terms of capital, the BNR governor warns that there is a great temptation to use the profits of the good years for personal consumption, but experience shows that it is very important that the profit be reinvested, for the expansion and modernization of the business, for the creation of reserves. Last but not least, Isarescu maintained he knows that many farmers complain about the insufficient involvement of commercial banks in the crediting of agriculture, but added that both farmers and bankers need to understand that "money lent and borrowed is the subject of a common business contract."AGERPRES (RO - author: Mariana Nica, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Bogdan Gabaroi, editor: Simona Iacob)