ROMANIA: What objectives has Kaufland set through the “Romanian Shelf” program | Progresiv
Kaufland Romania, the most important player in local modern retail, launched the "Romanian Shelf" program, which aims to support the development of small Romanian farmers, also having as objective the sale of 100% Romanian pork meat. 
The "Romanian Shelf" initiative was created in partnership with "Tara Mea" (My Country) Agricultural Cooperative. The program includes over 50% of small and medium-sized farmers in Romania, and 100 producers that are part of Cooperative. The initiative is structured on two pillars: collecting pork from Romanian farmers and changing the feed format of pigs from the program to an exclusively Romanian one.
The program is being implemented gradually, and today Kaufland Romania already receives deliveries of over 400 pigs / day and increases progressively from one week to another, and by the end of the year it will double the quantity.
"By 2020, we plan to reach 300,000 pigs or 18,000 tonnes. Specifically, we want to take over 60% of the Romanian pork. From March 1, 2018, the Romanian Shelf will have only local pork", said Valer Hancas, Corporate Affairs & Communication Manager, Kaufland Romania.
According to the Agricultural Cooperative, in 1989 Romania produced about 15 million pigs. Since then, domestic production has fallen significantly, reaching only 800,000 pigs per year in 2000, and currently is at 4.46 million pigs. In order to meet the demand for consumption on the local market, Romania must at least double the domestic production of pork meat.
INS data show that in 2016 the total pork production increased by only 4.6%. At present, about 60% of pork meat in modern and traditional trade comes from import, with the main markets being Italy, Spain, Germany or Denmark.
According to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Romania annually imports around 230,000 tons of pigs and pork meat (about 30,000 tons of live pigs and 200,000 tons of pork meat), thus spending about 350 million euros on imported meat. At the same time, Romania exported nearly 60 times less - about 4,000 tons of pork meat and products. According to MADR, the pork production currently requires financial support to ensure domestic consumption needs.
On the other hand, the INS shows that the most consumed type of meat in Romania is the pork meat, covering almost half of the total meat consumption, followed by poultry, with a consumption of 15-20 kg per year and beef, category that represents only 10% of the total. Overall, meat consumption in Romania is lower than in more developed countries: each Romanian eats around 60 kilograms of meat per year, compared to the European average of 70-75 kilograms per year.
Kaufland is among the largest retail companies in Europe, with over 1,250 stores in 7 countries and a chain of 116 stores in Romania. Last year, the retailer reported a turnover of 9.691 billion lei, up by 5.6% year-on-year.
