Are the Collective Actions in the Romanian Fruits and Vegetable Sector a Mean to Access the Retail Chains

The agricultural sector – in particular, the fruits and vegetable sector – finds itself in a relatively weak negotiation position due to the low level of concentration from which farmers approach the market. This is a weakness that can only be overcome by resorting to collective actions, i.e. the creation of producer organizations (POs) and producers groups (PGs). The concentration of supply of POs is quite different in the member countries, Romania having about 1% of production concentrated by producers groups and producers organizations. In this paper it is analyzed the production (area, yield, number and size of fruits and vegetable farms) and the supply chain of fruit and vegetable sector in Romania. In addition the paper concentrates on the historical development of the POs and the role of the POs of the fruit and vegetable sector. It is important to clarify the impact of changes of the regulatory framework and the impact of the minimum requirements of the POs (minimum number of members, minimum value of marketed production) and the performance of producers and organizations groups.