Romania harvests record wheat, rapeseed and barley crops

Romania harvested record volumes of its main winter crops in 2026. Wheat production reached 13.4 mln tons, rapeseed 3.52 mln tons, and barley 3.4 mln tons. According to AGRIColumn expert Cezar Gheorghe, the country has never produced such volumes of these three crops. Last year, production stood at 13 mln tons of wheat, 2.8 mln tons of rapeseed and 3 mln tons of barley.

High yields were supported by ample soil moisture. Rainfall began as early as September 2025, significant snowfall was recorded during winter, and spring rains continued until around July 10. In addition, after the dry 2020–2025 period, farmers shifted winter crop planting to later dates and expanded wheat, rapeseed and barley acreage at the expense of corn and soybeans.

Corn acreage recorded the sharpest decline, falling to 1.6 mln ha compared with an average of 2.65 mln ha in 2017–2022. Corn was largely retained in crop rotations by farms with access to irrigation. Despite the smaller area, production is expected at 7.8–8 mln tons, potentially allowing Romania to surpass France, where drought and heat have reduced the crop forecast to 7 mln tons.

Sunflower acreage, meanwhile, increased to 1.17 mln ha from 1.1 mln ha last season, with production estimated at 2.6–2.7 mln tons. However, the record wheat harvest has been accompanied by lower quality: food-grade wheat accounts for only 58–60% of the crop, compared with 78% last year, with the remainder classified as feed wheat.

Large crops are supporting Romania’s export potential, with the country remaining one of the EU’s leading exporters of several agricultural commodities for a second consecutive year. Since the start of the season on July 1, Romania has already exported 2.35 mln tons of wheat, 1.6 mln tons of barley and 0.8 mln tons of rapeseed.

Tags: barley, Romania, wheat, rapeseed