Agricola Bacău, one of Romania’s largest producers of poultry, cold cuts and ready-meal products, is navigating a more challenging 2025 as the economic climate takes its toll. Shrinking purchasing power and tighter household budgets are weighing on consumption, with effects felt across the food industry, company president Grigore Horoi told Ziarul Financiar in an interview.
Although inflation has been eroding incomes since 2022, consumers relied on savings to sustain spending. Those reserves, however, have now been depleted, leaving households facing new budget constraints that are increasingly impacting the business environment.
Horoi notes that the VAT hike and energy market liberalization have not yet had a major impact, but the effects will become clearer with winter and rising utility costs. In spite of these pressures, Agricola Bacău is pressing ahead with its investment plans. For 2025, the group has earmarked €32 million—roughly 2.5 times more than in 2024—for the modernization and expansion of its Prăjești slaughterhouse, the development of a new ready-meal product line, and the construction of new poultry farms. Horoi says the company is targeting moderate growth, constrained by its production capacity.
The group closed 2024 with revenues of 1.23 billion lei, up 6% compared with 2023, and projects more than 5% growth in 2025, to 1.3 billion lei. Its portfolio includes several subsidiaries—Agricola Internațional, Salbac, Europrod, Avicola Lumina and Aicbac.
Modern retail remains the company’s main sales channel, followed by the shrinking traditional trade segment and HoReCa. Exports account for around 18% of revenues, while Agricola’s portfolio of more than 3,000 products secures its place among the leading players in Romania’s food industry.
