Under a EUR 3 million program referred to the European Commission, which includes information and promotion actions for Romanian fruit and vegetables, local growers will be able to export their fresh or canned produce to countries like Norway, Ukraine and Russia; the program was approved mid-November.The project, implemented in collaboration with Greece, spans three years and will be 50 pct co-financed by the European Union.
“The program includes participation in fairs, product tasting sessions, promotion sites, but mainly talks with retail chains in the concerned countries with a view to supplying fresh or processed products starting January 1, 2010.
So far, Romania was exporting only 5 pct of the 200,000 tons of vegetables and fruit produced locally, but in three years we estimate that deliveries to other countries will reach 40 pct – 50 pct of the domestic production,” said Aurel Tanase, president of the Romconserv employers organization, the program’s initiator that includes 30 member companies with aggregate business of EUR 200 million.
