Rising Food Prices Spark Concerns
As the war in the Middle East goes on, food prices continue to rise in Romania
Mihai Pelin, 17.04.2026, 13:50
The pace of price increases accelerated in Romania in March, according to data made public by the National Statistics Institute. Romania is still the country with the highest inflation in the EU (9.87% in March), as services (11.05%), non-foods (10.89%), and food (7.67%) all became more expensive.
This is the eighth consecutive month in which the year on year inflation has remained above 9%, after a period in which it fell slightly. On average, some prices rose slightly compared to February, while other categories saw significant increases. The fastest rise, by approximately 6.5%, was for fuel prices, driven by the war in Iran.
Food prices are also rising, especially for basic products: sugar 11%, milk 9%, poultry almost 8%, sunflower oil over 7% and cheese over 6%. Analysts expect the upward trend to continue at least until mid-year. Dragoş Frumosu, the head of the National Federation of Food Industry Trade Unions, says Romania is going through a very difficult period for both the industry and consumers.
Dragoş Frumosu: “Because prices have increased and the negative effects of price rises affect both sides, including the producers and processors, as sales fall on account of the low purchasing power and then losses follow. Producers are trying not to raise the prices until they get below the breakeven point, so when they do reach it they obviously need to rethink their prices, which is why price rises hit the consumers in varying percentages and at varying times. As I was saying, the purchasing power gets very low and when people are forced to buy more expensive food, they will either buy less, or, last but not least and honestly the option I fear the most, they will move towards cheaper products, of poorer quality.”
Dragos Frumosu also explained that some producers are still holding out, but that there are many small and medium-sized companies that could not cope with the impact and have closed their businesses. And this also means losses for the state budget, he added.
The National Bank of Romania revised its inflation forecast for the end of 2026 upwards, from 3.7% previously to 3.9%. It also announced that until June the rate will go higher than originally forecast, mainly as a result of fuel price increases entailed by the war in the Middle East. On the other hand, the World Bank significantly revised downwards its estimates concerning the growth of the Romanian economy this year, from 1.4% estimated previously to 0.7%. (AMP)
