Romania posts record wheat, rapeseed and barley harvests in 2026

Romania harvested a record crop of winter crops in 2026

In 2026, Romania harvested record yields of its major winter crops. Wheat production reached 13.4 million metric tons, rapeseed 3.52 million metric tons, and barley 3.4 million metric tons. Last year, the harvests totaled 13 million metric tons, 2.8 million metric tons, and 3 million metric tons, respectively.

The high yield was facilitated by significant moisture reserves accumulated during the fall and winter. Heavy precipitation began as early as September 2025; there was a lot of snow in the winter, and the rains continued into the spring, lasting until around July 10. In addition, following the drought-stricken years of 2020–2025, Romanian farmers shifted the sowing dates for winter crops to a later period and increased the acreage planted with wheat, canola, and barley (by reducing spring plantings of corn and soybeans). According to AGRIColumn expert Cezar Gheorghe, the country has never before produced such volumes of these three major field crops.

Of all spring crops, the area planted with corn has decreased the most—to 1.6 million hectares (compared to an average of 2.65 million hectares in 2017–2022). In Romania, corn is now grown primarily by farms that have the capacity to irrigate their croplands. Despite the reduction in planted area, corn production in the country is expected to reach 7.8–8 million metric tons. As Logos Press previously reported, this estimated production figure for the current year could allow Romania to surpass France, where the corn harvest forecast has been lowered to 7 million metric tons due to drought and heat.

In contrast, the area planted with sunflowers in Romania has increased to 1.17 million hectares (compared to 1.1 million hectares last season). The sunflower harvest is estimated at 2.6–2.7 million metric tons.

The Problem of Grain Quality

The record wheat harvest is accompanied by a decline in quality: the share of food-grade grain is only 58–60%, compared to 78% last year. The remainder of the harvest consists of feed wheat.

High yields are bolstering Romania’s export potential; for the second consecutive year, the country remains one of the EU’s leading suppliers of a number of agricultural crops. Since the start of the season on July 1, the country has already exported 2.35 million metric tons of wheat, 1.6 million metric tons of barley, and 0.8 million metric tons of rapeseed.