Pardon Our Dust
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The conference was held in Bucharest, and panelists included government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Daniel Constantin, central and local authorities representatives, members of the European Parliament, major players in sectors such as dairy, meat processing, fruits and vegetables, traders of food products, professional organizations, as well as specialized business and public affairs consultants, lawyers, banks and financial institutions.
Nadia discussed several priorities that investors in the Romanian agribusiness have and consider essential in order to create fair competition, increase quality of products and consumption and budgetary collection.
“The Romanian authorities can and must take immediate measures in order to help the development of agriculture and the reduction of tax evasion in the field. Reverse taxation for meat, fruits and vegetables would lead to the elimination of tax evasion,” said Ms. Crisan. “In my opinion, the meat sector is a priority but it is essential that this measure is supported by a coherent strategy so tax evasion doesn’t return after the application expires.”
Additionally, given Romania’s highest VAT rate within the European Union and level of tax evasion in the main sectors, Nadia considers that the Government should also look closely in the near future at possibilities to reducing the VAT to food products.
The current agriculture market in Romania is improving in some areas and Nadia highlighted the progress made by the government especially on the land registry planning and its commitment to have it completed within the next 5 years. However, the government still has to meet some important milestones in order for the agriculture industry to have a greater impact on our economy and play an important role at EU level. In this context, Nadia Crisan indicated the focus needs to be on:
- Creating new opportunities and jobs in agriculture;
- Investing in research and technologies and professional training;
- Upgrading the food processing sector and to reach EU standards;
- Rehabilitation of the irrigation system with EU funding;
- Land consolidation and cadaster;
- Ensure easy access for farmers and investors to adequate financial mechanisms;
- Increase competitiveness to secure food safety; and
- Restructuring and upgrading of subsidized farms in order to produce for the market and not only for own consumption.