Increasing the reserves: Israel signed a memorandum of understanding with Romania to import wheat in an emergency

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter signed a memorandum of intent with Romania over the weekend to supply wheat to Israel during an emergency. The move is part of a broad plan to increase Israel’s wheat reserves for emergencies.

The signing of the memorandum was led by Minister Dichter, the Department of Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the Romanian side, the memorandum was signed by Georgian Pope, President of the National Emergency Management Agency of Romania, which is the equivalent of the National Emergency Authority (NEMA) in Israel. The memorandum signed at the end of the week is a result of stable trade relations between the countries, along with long-standing cooperation in the field of agriculture .

“As part of the vision that we lead in the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure food security in routine and emergency situations, this memorandum of understanding, which joins its predecessors, is another anchor for ensuring the agricultural production of wheat, most of which is not grown in Israel,” said Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter. “In this period of global uncertainty and severe geopolitical conflicts in our region – this agreement, which was born out of common interests, will allow Israel an additional import channel, especially in times of emergency. The Ministry of Agriculture, under my leadership, will continue to seek and create additional partnership channels between the State of Israel and other countries.”

The memorandum of understanding with Romania was signed as part of learning lessons from the global wheat supply crisis that has affected most countries of the world since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022. The blocking of trade routes in the Black Sea and the damage to the cultivation and export of wheat from Ukraine led to a dramatic increase in commodity prices and global import barriers. The Ministry of Agriculture was then forced to find alternative wheat import sources in a short time.

This is the fourth agreement signed as part of the effort to ensure the supply of wheat and diversify the import sources. Similar agreements have already been signed with Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Morocco, which maintain good diplomatic relations with Israel, as part of the ministry’s plan to strengthen food security.

At the Ministry of Agriculture, the wheat breeding project “Treat the Wheat”, which is intended to strengthen Israel’s food reserves for the long term, and to reduce the risk of a shortage of wheat in Israel during an emergency, along with strengthening agriculture and local production. As part of the project, the countries that signed the agreement with Israel undertake to supply it with wheat in an emergency, in exchange for sharing agricultural knowledge and technologies on the part of Israel.

Agriculture Minister Dichter’s visit to Romania is intended to promote further cooperation between Israel and Romania in the field of agriculture. Dichter met with his counterpart, the Romanian Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Parlorin Barbeau, with the President of the Romanian Emergency Management Agency, Georgian Pope, as well as with the President of the Jewish Community, the President of the Israel-Romania Chamber of Commerce and the professional and political ranks of the two countries, with the aim of examining the Implementation of the project The minister and the team of the foreign trade department of the Ministry of Agriculture held discussions with the various parties regarding the possible ways of working and the additional cooperations that can be established between the countries.