A hectare of agricultural land could sell for up to 6,000 euros within the next five years, which is close to the European average. At present, agricultural land sells for 1,500-2,000 euros per hectare. Experts say more and more foreign investors, in particular from Italy and Germany, are coming to Romania to develop agricultural businesses. "The foreign companies find the conditions in Romania attractive. We are number two in Europe, after France, in terms of agricultural land mass, and a favourable microclimate places us in the top three in terms of agricultural potential," stated Viorel Matei, chairman of the National Federation of Farmers in Romania.

Romania has 9.7 million hectares of agricultural land, of which only one third has been exploited to its fullest extent. "Peasants have no money to work their land, which is why a lot of it has now turned into fallow. We are only working three million hectares of the total area of agricultural land. However, within five or six years, we will see a Romania where every single bit of land is farmed in line with European standards," believes Adrian Porumboiu, owner of the Racova Agro Pan Group in Vaslui.

The drought has led to global price increases for agricultural products, which is why many foreign companies have chosen Romania as their destination to develop agricultural businesses. The lack of large plots of farming land in most European countries is forcing investors to buy land in Romania, where they can expand their production.

For example, Danish company FirstFarms has already bought 3,000 hectares of land in Romania and will begin farming and raising livestock domestically. "We chose Romania for our investments because it is a new European Union member and offers a great deal of opportunities to extensively develop agricultural production.

Romania imports a large amount of agricultur