Several prominent poultry meat manufacturers in Romania are expanding their capacities. Image created with the help of AI (Reve.art)Romania is poised to increase poultry exports in the coming years, with its largest companies making substantial investments to expand operations, according to a report from the Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (VFSA).
Over the past decade, Romanian poultry production jumped by 35% to 550,000 tonnes in 2024, VFSA stated. In parallel, poultry exports are also on an upward trajectory. In 2024, Romania exported poultry worth €270 million, up from €140 million just 10 years earlier. The trend seems to be picking up, as nearly 80% of that growth occurred over the last 3 years.
Romania has now reached self-sufficiency in poultry production and is increasingly focusing on exports, according to VFSA.
Expanding capacities
This growth is largely fueled by expansion programmes of Romania’s largest poultry manufacturers. For example, Carmistin, the largest poultry producer in Romania, is expanding its capacities, aiming to boost output to 140,000-150,000 tonnes in 2026, compared to only 120,000 tonnes in 2025. In the middle of 2025, the company opened a new factory between Băbeni and Frânceşti in Vâlcea County, with investments totaling close to €76 million. The factory is expected to gradually ramp up its capacity to 100 million birds per year throughout the next 5 years.
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Carmistin is rapidly expanding poultry exports. In 2024, the company tripled sales to foreign customers to RON 140 million (€27.51 million), with a target to push this figure to RON 450 million (€88.5 million) in 2025. “We already export poultry meat to over 30 countries,” Justin Paraschiv, Carmistin CEO, said in a statement in 2025.
Several other prominent poultry meat manufacturers are also expanding their capacities, according to VFSA. For instance, Agricola has reported that it had reached its designed production performance in 2024 following the implementation of an extensive investment campaign worth €250 million. Compared with 2009, the company saw a 145% growth in output, Grigore Horoi, president of Agricola.
Tilting the trade balance
VFSA stated that the poultry industry remains one of the most successful segments of the Romanian food industry and the key export driver. For example, the agency said that in 2024, Romania recorded a €5 billion deficit in food and live animals. “Romania imports most of these products, but poultry is an exception,” VFSA stated.
