Agriculture will become more profitable than the real estate business in about 10 years due to investments in this sector and European financial support, said Adrian Porumboiu (photo), President of the Racova Vaslui group of companies. "We are currently witnessing an explosion on the real estate market, but in about 3-4 years this market will stabilize and everything will go back to normal. Agricultural investments will develop simultaneously, and agriculture will beat real estate in 10 years," Adrian Porumboiu told Business Standard. He says that agricultural profitability is now some five percent, while that of agricultural industries [Ed.n.: processing raw materials of agricultural origin] is 10-12 percent. Porumboiu estimates that 10 years from now the agriculture profitability rate will reach some 12 percent, and that from industries will reach 15-18 percent.
With some 43,000 hectares of agricultural terrain exploited, Porumboiu is one of the top five agriculturalists in Romania. Other important players on the grain market are TCE 3 Brazi, Agro Chirnogi, Comcereal Dolj, and Interagro. Agriculture will not be considered merely a source of food, but rather the main provider of fuel, says Porumboiu. Although real estate is presently much more profitable and less demanding than agriculture, Porumboiu is willing to invest in the field, adding that "the future belongs to agriculture."
