RESEARCH ON THE TRENDS IN MILKING LIVESTOCK AND MILK PRODUCTION IN ROMANIA

The goal of the paper was to analyze the main trends in the milking livestock and milk production in Romania during the period 20072-012 and to establish the forecast for the 2013-2015 horizon, based on the empirical data provided by the National Institute of Statistics and Eurostat. The methods used in this study were: the fixed basis index, average change method, and comparison method. While the number of dairy cows declined by 30 %, accounting for 1,265 thou heads in 2012, the number of female sheep and goats increased by 45 % reaching 8,726 thou heads. The farm size is very small, 1-2 cows/farm for 59 % holdings, 3-9 cows/farm for 38 % holdings and over 10 cows for only 3 % farms and the extensive technology is the most practiced one. Milk production declined by 20 %, accounting for 44,172 thou hl in 2012, of which 86 % is produced by cows. Milk production value contributes by 32 % to agricultural production value. Cow milk yield is small, only 3,417 kg/cow in 2012 and in decline. Only about 22 % of milk is delivered to dairies and the remaining is consumed on farm and directly sold in the market because of the low milk farm gate price and milk quality. The producer's price is the lowest in the EU, accounting for Euro 29.84/100 milk kg. As a conclusion, to rehabilitate the sector of milk producing, the farmers' associative forms are required to join the capital and financial resources, to apply for EU funding to modernize the farms, to produce a higher production and assure a high profitability and competitiveness. Key words: milking livestock, milk production, Romania, trends