[Feedinfo News Service] What led to ANFNC’s creation last year, and what does your work consist of? [Iani A. Chihaia] The idea to set up a new feed manufacturers’ association was created about three years ago further to an initiative by ANFNC’s current president, Iosif Pazuric. An initial group of eleven local feed producers was created. Their goal: establish a new association, and increase awareness within the feed industry sector of Romania’s agricultural production, and of products of animal origin (meat, eggs and milk). Just a year after its creation, the association reached over 50 members representing over 49% of the total volume of animal feed manufactured in industrial feed mills. Things will not stop here; next year, we are hoping to reach over 80 members. [Feedinfo News Service] Last July, ANFNC became a full member of FEFAC. How does ANFNC benefit from such a membership? [Iani A. Chihaia] ANFNC was affiliated as a FEFAC member just nine months after the association’s legal registration in Romania. However, this is the result of a long relationship and cooperation between FEFAC and Romanian industry leaders, which started back in 2008. The US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) supported our efforts to establish ANFNC, and facilitated our collaboration with FEFAC. Since its creation, our association has strived to meet all of FEFAC’s requirements and become a strong voice within the Romanian feed milling sector. Today, ANFNC is officially recognized by all the relevant governmental authorities and is part of the consulting committees within the Ministry of the Agriculture, the National Veterinarian Authority and the National Grain Stock Exchange. By being recognized as a professional association, we are able to promote the feed industry’s interests and collaborate with national and EU official authorities on implementing legislation, improving access to raw materials, creating a better business environment. Last but not least, we are able to deliver the right message to consumers: we are producing safe and sustainable animal feed.

Iani A. Chihaia Executive Secretary ANFNC

[Feedinfo News Service] Last year, Romania’s agricultural production reached EUR 17 billion, recording a 25% growth compared with the previous year. How confident are you about Romania’s future role as one of Europe’s agricultural powerhouses?
[Iani A. Chihaia] I have worked in this industry for almost 20 years, and I have good reasons to be confident about the future of the Romanian agriculture and feed industries. With an annual production of 20 million tons of grains per year, Romania regularly ranks 6th or 7th in Europe in terms of grain production volumes (the main cultivated grains are corn, wheat, barley, oats and rye). Romania is also the world’s 9th largest producer of corn, with an average production of 9.102 TMT/ year.
Meanwhile, the price of land in Romania remains very low – according to figures recently released by Bloomberg, the average price per hectare of agricultural land in Romania is USD 6.461, compared to USD 18.521 in Germany and USD 25.575 in the UK -, which suggests that the country’s agricultural sector will grow exponentially in the years to come.
[Feedinfo News Service] Can you provide us with an overview of Romania’s animal feed market? What are the specific characteristics of this market, as compared to other European markets?
[Iani A. Chihaia] Romania’s feed industry has faced significant challenges and transformations over the past 25 years. In the early ‘90s, the feed industry was affected by the political and social changes taking place in Eastern Europe. In 1996, Romania’s feed production amounted to 1 million tons per year, down from 11 million tons per year in 1990 (produced by over 70 large size feed mills). This was mainly due to the redistribution of assets, from state to private ownership.
After that, feed production gradually increased, reaching about 3 million tons per year over the past decade (meanwhile, small-sized farmers also consume approximately 3 million tons of home-mixed feed). The growing business opportunities that we are now witnessing in Romania, as well as the country’s growing grain production, allow us to believe that within the next 5 to 10 years the feed industry could reach 5 million tons per year.
Currently, Romania’s feed industry mainly consists of integrated, large feed mills. Despite this, the industry is also very fragmented, mainly because of the country’s numerous independent pig farms.
Romania’s top ten feed mills produce over 48% of the total volume, and the top 20 feed mills manufacture about 67% of the total annual production. Poultry feed currently represents 54% of the total feed production, and pig feed about 43%. Ruminant feed lags behind with only 3% of the market, a situation mainly due to the underdeveloped dairy farming sector and low market prices for raw milk.

The Romanian feed and livestock industries, as well as the feed production segment, have significant unlocked potential in terms of production capacity, and offer real opportunities as domestic and international demand for quality food products continues to grow.
[Feedinfo News Service] Earlier this year, DSM’s Fatrom, Romania’s leading premix manufacturer, obtained a loan from Banca Romaneasca to build an animal feed facility. In 2008, Smithfield invested in its feed facility in Vinga, Arad. How attractive are the country’s feed and livestock sectors to local and foreign investors?
[Iani A. Chihaia] Both local and foreign investors are eager to take advantage of the current opportunities. In this regard, the past 4 years were probably the most prolific period for investments in post-1989 Romania. During this period, over 12 feed mills were built, either as green field projects or as expansion projects. Things are moving today faster than in the past, even if feed industry is a very conservative business.
[Feedinfo News Service] What are the main grains used by Romania’s feed industry? Do Romanian feed producers rely on grain imports such as soybean meal from the US?
[Iani A. Chihaia] Historically, Romania’s feed industry has mainly used locally produced grains. Corn is the main cereal used, whereas wheat is used only for pellet quality purposes and barley is the preferred cereal for pig diets (if prices allow it).  Sunflower meal and oil are also locally sourced since Romania is the largest sunflower producer in the EU 28. Food byproducts or bioethanol byproducts are not really available and imported quantities are relatively small.
In terms of high quality protein meals, however, our industry is unfortunately dependent on imports - over 75 % of the soybean meal is imported mainly from South, but also from North America. The broiler industry is the main industry suffering from a shortage of high quality proteins. The cost of soybean meal, for example, represents over 52% of the total cost of broiler feed in Romania. In order to reduce feed costs, the Romanian feed industry is looking to purchase hi-pro, dehulled soybean meal, but hi-pro meal is not always delivered to the Constanta Port.
Over the past decade, several feed mills have tried to find an alternative and reduce the costs of feed. Over 27 Romanian companies have established soy extrusion plants, which means that Romania probably has one of the largest soy extrusion processing capacities in Europe. Most of the locally-produced beans are processed by these plants but shortages occur only 3 or 4 months after the harvest. In order to overcome this challenge, some of these companies have started to import containerized beans from the U.S. This means that sourcing high quality beans and soybean meal is going to be a priority for most of the large size broiler integrators in the country.
[Feedinfo News Service] What is the industry’s stance on GM-feed?
[Iani A. Chihaia] Biotech crops are a major interest to the Romanian feed industry as our sector relies heavily on imported high quality proteins. Romanian feed and livestock companies recently expressed their concern about the fact that the European Commission has further delayed the authorization of 8 GM products for import, food and feed processing.
[Feedinfo News Service] What are ANFNC’s priorities for 2014/2015?
[Iani A. Chihaia] In 2014-2015, we are planning to collaborate with:
- the National Veterinarian Authority to update the GMP code for the industry;
- FEFAC to organize a bilateral workshop on EU feed regulation and control at national level;
- Romania’s Ministry of Agriculture and Romanian Parliament to adopt the new Animal Husbandry Law.
The ANFNC will also continue to provide support to its members, whose numbers will hopefully continue to grow. There is a lot to be done, but we believe that the future of the industry is bright.