Romania's agricultural sector is facing a deepening financial crisis, with the number of agricultural companies entering insolvency doubling to its highest level in recent years, amid pressure from Ukrainian grain imports and rising energy and fertiliser costs driven by geopolitical instability, according to an analysis by restructuring specialist CITR.

The risk is particularly acute in the counties of Bacau, Hunedoara and Vaslui, as well as in major agricultural areas such as Timis, Arad, Constanta, Teleorman, Braila and Bucharest.

According to the analysis published on Wednesday, based on data from the National Trade Register Office (ONRC) and CITR's own financial assessments of the agricultural sector, the number of insolvencies rose by almost 80%, from 127 cases in the first half of 2025 to 226 in the first six months of this year. By mid-April 2026, the number of agricultural insolvencies had already reached the level recorded during the whole of the first half of last year.

Among companies with fixed assets exceeding EUR 4 million, the number of agricultural insolvencies jumped from just one company in the first half of 2025 to 19 in the same period of 2026. These 19 companies account for more than EUR 235 million in fixed assets, equivalent to over 57% of all assets entering insolvency in this category across the Romanian economy, the analysis shows.

'The increase in the number of insolvencies in the agricultural sector in the first six months of the year reflects an accumulation of structural and cyclical pressures on Romanian farmers. Profit margins have been squeezed by the combined impact of volatile grain prices, high production and financing costs, as well as recurring droughts, which affect both soil conditions and crop rotation decisions, with an increasing number of farmers switching to autumn crops, considered more stable than maize or sunflower,' CITR analysts said.

These pressures have been compounded by imports of grain from Ukraine and rising energy and fertiliser costs driven by geopolitical instability.

The analysis, based on a representative sample of 3,700 agricultural companies out of a total of 13,700 that filed financial statements and have total assets of at least EUR 1 million, points to worrying structural vulnerabilities. It shows that 40% of companies are at high financial risk, 631 are on the verge of insolvency, while a further 855 are considered suitable for restructuring and in urgent need of operational and financial reorganisation measures.

'Companies at risk that nevertheless generate solid turnover and employ significant numbers of people should be prioritised for early restructuring intervention, which can prevent wider social and economic consequences,' the analysis notes.

The risk map extends from farms in western Romania to the cereal-producing regions of south-eastern Romania and the region of Moldavia.

The agricultural sector's financial distress is also reflected in the evolution of non-performing loans among non-financial companies. According to the National Bank of Romania's Financial Stability Report published in June 2026, the non-performing loan ratio rose to 5.6%, while in the micro and small enterprise segment, which includes most farmers, it exceeds 7%.

State-guaranteed loans, widely used in agriculture between 2020 and 2022, have a non-performing loan ratio of 11.3%. The largest concentrations of major agricultural insolvencies are in the counties of Bacau and Hunedoara, followed by Vaslui, Bihor and Ialomita - areas dependent on extensive farming - where large companies with assets exceeding EUR 4 million have entered insolvency. The counties with the highest overall number of agricultural companies at risk are Timis (147 companies), Bucharest (85), Arad (77), Constanta (76), Teleorman (74) and Braila (72).

'The mismatch between the agricultural cycle and liquidity shortages, particularly between harvests, has prompted increasingly cautious selling behaviour, with farmers preferring to retain stocks rather than sell below profitability thresholds. This is putting pressure on both cash flow and confidence throughout the supply chain. These vulnerabilities are compounded by structural weaknesses in the sector, including excessive land fragmentation and a lack of processing infrastructure, which prevent a large share of agricultural output from being fully commercialised,' CITR Chief Executive Officer Paul-Dieter Cirlanaru said.

In this context, the sustainability of the agricultural sector depends increasingly less on production volumes and more on operational efficiency, financial discipline and risk management.

CITR is Romania's market leader in restructuring and insolvency services, with more than 25 years of experience and over 1,200 projects completed. Each year, the company distributes more than EUR 100 million to creditors as part of its mission to preserve value in significant Romanian businesses. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Tilica; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)