EVALUATION OF ROMANIAN LIVESTOCK SECTOR FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF AVAILABILITY OF FOOD PRODUCTS

The Food security of the population is a global problem of mankind due to increased demand for agricultural products, driven by population explosion, increasing household income and changing of consumption structure. The major changes that have occurred in the Romanian economy after 1990, there have been felt in animal husbandry, both in terms of size livestock farms and livestock and yields obtained. This scientific approach aims to analyze the Romanian livestock sector in terms of availability and consumption of food products of animal origin. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the main indicators of production is based on statistical data provided by the National Institute of Statistics and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. According to this analysis of the Romanian livestock sector we conclude that the current level of production is much lower than a decade ago, as a result of the sharp and steady reduction of livestock, reduction of purchasing power of population, poor performance and lack export competitiveness. On the other hand, consumption of food products in Romania is much lower than the EU average consumption, the share of food self-consumption is the highest in the EU-27, while the share of food expenditure in total household expenditure remain at extremely high levels.