The Romanian Agri-Food Aggregate Demand – Evolutions And Trends In The Context Of The Economic And Financial Crisis

The approach to the agri-food demand presents a real interest for all the European states, the changes produced in its structure being in the focus of all the authorities, mainly in the present period deeply affected by the economic and financial crisis. The aim of the present analysis is to investigate the main changes in the agri-food demand structure for a number of four products, as a result of the economic-financial crisis effects. From the methodological perspective, the analysis uses well-known statistical methods, such as comparisons, structures, production functions and econometric models. The demand rigidity or elasticity in certain agri-food products, considered to be essential for meeting the consumption needs, have induced changes not only in the evolution of the sector, but also in all the upstream and downstream branches that are directly connected to obtaining these products. Moreover, there are also other factors such as consumption diminution, as well as the fiscal policy measures (the diminution of wages, VAT increase, etc.) that have generated more or less significant contractions in the structure of the agri-food demand.