The Economic Profitability of Garlic Cultivation through the Application of the ”De Minimis” Aid Scheme, Estimates for the Year 2024 in Romania

The culture of Romanian garlic has a high potential from an economic point of view, being in great demand on the market, Romanians preferring its taste and aroma. However, ..garlic cultivation does not have an easy technology and the Romanian seed is hard to find, so many of the producers are discouraged and prefer to cultivate other, safer crops. Massive imports of garlic led to measures from the state. Underscoring the importance of garlic cultivation for the Romanian economy, the state met agricultural producers with a “de minimis” support to support garlic production. The present paper, in order to contribute to making the necessary decisions for the future production cycle as well as to support farmers who want to cultivate this crop, analyzes the economic efficiency with the help of profitability indicators (profit, profitability rates, breackeven point, etc.), for two possible situations: with financial support granted through the Garlic Production Support Program and without taking into account this “de minimis” support. In this context, it is aimed to evaluate the economic viability in terms of the use of the production framework technology of garlic culture and the rational use of both the raw materials used and the human and financial resources to produce garlic of high quality but at low costs. Agricultural activities are always determined by the profitability of the crop. The findings of the study can have a positive impact on farmers, allowing them to adjust their material resources and current farm capacities for higher productivity, while highlighting the importance of implementing the garlic crop support program.