Agriculture Sees Highest Rise In Number Of New Companies In First Nine Months

10.19.2011 By Gabriel Razi

The number of new companies in the Romanian agricultural sector went up by 130% in the first nine months of this year compared with the same time in 2010. This means the number of companies in this business registered from January through September amounted over 19,000, according to the National Trade Registry Office (ONRC) data.

The number of new companies in the Romanian agricultural sector went up by 130% in the first nine months of this year compared with the same time in 2010. This means the number of companies in this business registered from January through September amounted over 19,000, according to the National Trade Registry Office (ONRC) data.

The rise in the number of agricultural company registrations is the highest of all the sectors of the economy. This wave of new companies shows that agriculture is the star of the economy this year, as many entrepreneurs were encouraged by the record prices for agri-food products to start a business in this sector.

The year 2011 was a very good farming year, with the best grain harvest in a decade. The sector will make a significant contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of about 8%, up 20% on the previous year.

The second leading sector in terms of newly established companies is financial brokerage and insurance, with a little less than 1,900 registrations in the first nine months of the year, up 77% on the same time of 2010.

Even though construction sector still is not showing any signs of a rebound this year, more and more entrepreneurs are displaying interest in this field. About 10,000 construction companies were set up in the first three quarters of the year, an increase of 56% on the same time of 2010. The real estate sector saw 42% more companies incorporated, so that the number of new business registrations in the first nine months of the year, stands at 1,419. A comparable growth was registered in the healthcare and social assistance sector, with 822 new businesses.

At the other end of the ranking are the trade companies. The first three quarters saw almost 28,000 new trade companies established, down 2% compared with the corresponding period of 2010.

All in all, a total of 104,000 new companies became part of the Romanian economy in the first nine months. The number went up at a quarter of the rate of first nine months of 2010. On the other hand, 2,900 businesses ceased to exist during this period, a decline of 55% on the same time of 2010.

(English version by Loredana Fratila)