Florin Barbu, the Romanian Minister of Agriculture, has unveiled two significant investment programs aimed at rejuvenating the country's ailing pork sector, which has seen a decline and reliance on imports for most of its demand. These initiatives, launched on July 15, 2023, and allocated 63 million Euros for the improvement of pig and poultry breeding, aim to boost Romania's piglet production by over 1.5 million by March 2024. This is in line with Smithfield Romania's plans to increase its pig production to the same figure by 2026. Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture is developing a new program and ordinance to support pig farming, intending to fund 60 farms in 2025 and 2026, with project submissions expected in the later part of 2023.