- EBRD approves €20 million loan to Agricover Credit IFN for on-lending to Romanian farmers
- Romania’s leading financiers of agriculture expanding farmers’ access to finance
- Loans will help local producers overcome impact of war on Ukraine
The EBRD is enhancing food production and security in Romania and beyond by approving €20 million to Agricover Credit IFN, a non-bank agricultural lender, to on-lend to farmers for their investment or working capital financing needs. The loan is part of the EBRD’s €2 billion Resilience and Livelihoods Framework helping countries and companies affected by the war on Ukraine.
Neighbouring Ukraine and Russia are both major grain producers, and wheat prices, which were already close to 50 per cent above their 2017-2021 average in February, when Russia invaded Ukraine, have risen additionally since the war began. After poor harvests, the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain issues exacerbated by the war, global cereals stocks were more than 30 per cent below the five-year average.
Romania reached record agricultural production in 2021 and has significant capacity for grain and oilseeds production. While Romanian farmers are facing increased input prices and rising energy bills, this record production, coupled with high output prices and higher international demand for crops now, combine to support local farmers to adapt to the current environment.
Agricover Credit IFN works with more than 4,700 farmers in Romania. It is a subsidiary of Agricover Holding, which offers agribusiness and financial services to farmers through a highly integrated business model centred around satisfying the essential needs of farmers.
The company, an existing EBRD client since 2018, is wholly owned by Agricover Holding S.A., a major player in the Romanian agricultural sector with over 20 years of activity, in which the EBRD is a shareholder.
To date, the EBRD has invested almost €9.7 billion in 488 projects in Romania.
