Romanian retail, agriculture and food group Agroland Business System is entering the organic sector by transforming a feed factory to certified organic.
The company’s plant in Caransebes in southwestern Romania will be the largest certified organic feed factory in Romania, according to a Business Review report, and will operate under a new entity, Agroland Organic.
With the factory’s conversion, the company “will be able to source raw materials from a significant number of farmers in the western part of the country who produce organic grains, reducing their dependence on grain traders from Western Europe. Additionally, our focus on local food production, which started in 2020 with the acquisition of the poultry platform in Mihailesti, continues to be one of our development directions,” said Horia Cardos, Agroland Business System founder and CEO.
Cardos said that, over the past four years, Agroland Business System has increased its egg production capacity five-fold and increased the number of day-old chicks produced. The company’s next stage is the production of organic eggs, and it plans to acquire a small organic egg producer.
“Our objective in this segment is to become the largest organic egg producer in Romania in the coming years, with a potential market share of 30%, by establishing organic farms across the country,” Cardos said.
Agroland Business System acquired the factory in Caransebes in 2022 for RON5 million (US$1.1 million). The transition to organic required an investment of EUR200,000 (US$214,000) and focused on refurbishing the equipment in the factory and renovating the silos and buildings. The plant will produce feed for organic laying hens and organic broiler farms, as well as for small breeders in Agroland’s network of more than 240 stores.
