| 30 31 | We are delighted to be one of the voices in the 3RO project initiated by PENNY, a program dedicated to encouraging the growth of Romanian businesses. The beer industry in Romania is profoundly national – beer is produced locally, with 97% of it being manufactured in domestic factories, the main ingredients sourced from Romania, and the products being packaged locally. We are an industry with zero tax evasion in the production chain, contributing over 500 million euros annually to the state budget. Additionally, beer generates 700 million euros of added value throughout the value chain, impacting agriculture, HoReCa, transportation, storage, and other related industries. As a transparent player, we need government programs that encourage farmers to expand their cultivated areas for hops and barley, ensuring that we maintain the entire production chain in Romania and generate significant economic growth with a positive impact on local communities. Julia Leferman CEO Brewers of Romania Association Romania is a major agricultural player in Europe and has enormous economic potential in the whole food value chain. We, the AHK Romania, would also like to consider more the food industry in our future activities. We see its great potential, especially in the context of the strategy ”From Farm to Fork”. We want to actively contribute to make agriculture part of the solution to reduce CO2 emissions and therefore, to drive the green transformation in Romania. This is why we are supporting the TripluRO (3RO) project, which is extremely important for the entire food industry in Romania. We congratulate PENNY for this initiative! The latest years have clearly showed that Romanian agriculture needs to diversify further. Currently, about 67% of the agricultural land is used for arable farming which in dry years, like 2020 and in the context of the current crisis in Ukraine, continues to be highly dependent on external influences, and therefore makes it difficult for the farmers to plan for. As a result, the income situation remains unstable and the urgently needed investments in the modernisation of agriculture, such as digitalisation, often cannot be made. On the other hand, Romania's agricultural and food trade balance is in a clear imbalance. As it is well known, Romania is one of Europe's largest exporters of agricultural products such as grain maize and oilseeds. This contrasts with very high imports of food products for Romanian consumers. The initiative of PENNY will bring an important contribution to making Romanian agriculture more resilient and providing Romanian consumers with high quality food "Made in Romania". Sebastian Metz AHK Romania President Michael Beier Coordinator of the Agriculture working group in AHK We would like to express our gratitude for the proactive efforts of our colleagues at PENNY, who have actively participated in the association's leadership over the past few years. Besides being courageous, ambitious, and well-founded, their initiative is both timely and aligned with the needs of local producers and, most importantly, consumers in Romania. The discussions held within the project brought together producers, processors, distributors, and retailers – essentially, all participants in the agri-food supply chain, as well as notable representatives and authorities. They were able to openly and constructively discuss the challenges faced by this vital sector. As a result, after each debate session, ideas and solutions were proposed that will be implemented in the nearest possible future. Together, we have identified various industries that are in need of assistance, support, and a modest amount of effort in order to flourish. We aim to all reap the product of our labour, by dedicating ourselves to the sustainable development of communities. George Bădescu Executive Director of the Association of Large Commercial Networks in Romania
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