Great international interest in Romanian Business Day in Wassenaar!

On March 12, a strong substantive program for entrepreneurs from almost all sectors was organized in the attractive De Wittenburg castle. There were also many participants from Romania present because experts by experience are preferred. Also present were ambassadors from both countries. Never before in the existence of the Dutch Romanian Business Network was there such a huge interest.

It was also noticeable that Romania’s economic significance in many areas exceeded Dutch growth. These changed market conditions imply that the Dutch Romanian Network should adjust its policy accordingly. A not insignificant number of entrepreneurs were therefore interested in membership. In particular, entrepreneurs from the agricultural sector felt the need to look across the border to discover if they could be offered a greater perspective for their future. So the networking opportunities were busily used.

Ultimately, every entrepreneur wants to know “what is in it for me?”

We will keep our members informed of current developments through this newsletter. One more reason to become a member of the Dutch Romanian Network!

Awarding Romanian Business Award

Every year the Dutch Romanian Network presents an award to an entrepreneur or employee who has distinguished himself in a special way and who has a relationship with Romania. This year the choice fell on Hanno Reeser who works in the logistics sector as Director of Strategic Development at the Belgian family business H.Essers. .
Within the organization, he is widely regarded as a “synchromodality guru” and a driving force behind the shift to sustainable intermodal transport.Hanno has been nominated for both Multimodal Ambassador 2025 in Belgium and Rail Man of the Year 2025 in the Netherlands.His involvement in the development of the rail link between China and the Netherlands earned his team the 2019 Lean & Green Off-Road Cooperation Scale.Reeser is particularly known for his focus on synchromodality, which involves flexible switching between transport modes (road, rail, water) to optimize cost, speed and carbon emissions.
Checks have helped take hundreds of thousands of trucks off the road, significantly reducing the company’s total carbon emissions. Hanno expanded the Genk – Curtici rail connection from weekly to daily, with connections from Curtici to Turkey. He played a strategic role in the acquisition and development of the Genk rail terminal, which serves as the company’s central hub for high-security, temperature-controlled cargo (pharmaceuticals/chemicals) destined for the rest of Europe and Asia.

Controlled cargo (pharmaceuticals/chemicals) destined for the rest of Europe and Asia.

He always looks for the best possible solution for the customer and finds a way to create a synodal solution. In addition to all these great accomplishments, Hanno has been a loyal member of DRN all these years.

The golden helmet

The Helmet of Coțofenești, stolen from the Drents Museum in Assen in January 2025 and recovered in April 2026, is an archaeological masterpiece of enormous historical and cultural significance, especially for Romania.

Here are the main historical aspects:

• Symbol of Dacian Civilization: The helmet dates from the 4th or early 3rd century BC and is an iconic symbol of the Geto-Dacians, the ancestors of the Romanians. It shows the high level of craftsmanship and the complex social structure of the Dacian elite at the time.
• King’s Sacrifice or Headgear: The helmet is made of almost pure gold and is decorated with detailed images, including an eye motif (possibly for protection) and ritual scenes. It is considered a ceremonial helmet of a ruler, king or high priest, rather than a helmet for direct combat.
• Unique Archaeological Artifact: The piece was found in Coțofenești in Romania in 1928 and is a rare example of Iron Age goldsmithing in the region.
• Value: Due to its unique historical status and choice of materials (almost a kilo of gold), the helmet represents a value of over 4.3 million euros and is considered an invaluable cultural heritage.

Hidden gold in the Carpathians: more than 2,000 tons mined over the past two millennia. Where were the largest deposits located?

Historical research shows that more than 2,000 tons of gold have been extracted from Romania over the past two and a half millennia. The last gold mines closed their doors in the 2000s, but in recent years new valuable gold and silver deposits have been discovered in the Apuseni Mountains.

In Romania, there are more than 140 known deposits and sites where gold is the main usable metal, and more than 90 areas where it occurs as a by-product.

The main deposits are related to Neogene volcanism in the southern Apuseni Mountains and Eastern Carpathians, especially in the Baia Mare district. This is evident from research published by geologists Gheorghe C. Popescu, Gheorghe Ilinca, Antonela Neacșu and Grigore Verdeș under the title “The Gold Museum of Brad. Characterization and classification of indigenous gold samples and other minerals”.

Smaller gold deposits have also been discovered and exploited in the Banat Mountains, and other gold occurrences have been linked to sliding zones in the Carpathian and Apuseni Mountains, but most of these did not have great economic value.

The research shows that, before the development of underground mining, gold was extracted in significant quantities from the alluvial deposits of rivers. These deposits were an important resource for the population that inhabited these areas since ancient times.

The golden quadrangle

The gold-bearing area of the Metaliferi Mountains, in the Apuseni arc, was delineated in the form of a quadrangle with the corners at Săcărâmb (Hunedoara province), Zlatna, Roșia Montană and Abrud (Alba province), and Baia de Arieș, respectively. The location of the richest gold mines in Romanian history was on the border between the provinces of Hunedoara and Alba, in an area of about 600 square kilometers, dominated by forest-covered mountains and intersected by the waters of the Crișul Alb, Ampoiului and Abrudul rivers, and bordered by the Mureș River.

The former mine in Roșia Montană.

“The gold deposits in the Metaliferi Mountains constituted Romania’s main gold source (probably more than 75% of the total amount of gold mined throughout history came from this area). On the scale of the entire Carpathian-Balkan chain, this area represents an anomaly in gold metallogenesis and has remained one of the most productive gold mining areas in Europe and the world. The historical amount of gold mined from the 60 or so known epithermal deposits in the Golden Quadrangle area was about 1,750 tons ,” according to research by geologists.

Maramureș is one of the most important mining areas in Romania and Europe, where polymetallic ores rich in gold, silver, lead and copper have been extracted for centuries.

“It is estimated that about 125 tons of gold have been extracted from more than 20 mineralized structures in the Baia Mare district over the course of history. However, this amount is probably an underestimate, since more than 20 tons of gold were extracted from the Cavnic metallogenic field alone during the period 1875-1993. Geologist Kamen Kouzmanov and his collaborators believe that the Baia Mare district still contains about 33.6 tons of unexplored gold,” according to the study.

(Researched by DRN mining expert in consultation with former ambassador and geologist Calin Fabian).

Agricultural sector

Romania renews agri-food trade relations with China

During a recent visit to China, Romanian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Florin Barbu signed a memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation between Romania and China. This document aims to revive bilateral cooperation and create new export opportunities for Romanian agri-food products to foreign markets.

It constituted a new momentum in Romanian-Chinese agri-food relations. According to a press release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the document lays a solid foundation for bilateral cooperation in key areas such as food security, agricultural investment, agri-food processing, research and innovation, and the exchange of modern technologies.
‘This partnership sends a clear message: Romania no longer accepts the role of mere exporter of raw materials. We are strengthening our position as a supplier of value-added agri-food products, opening new markets and attracting investments in processing.’ “Cooperation with the People’s Republic of China offers a real opportunity for Romanian agriculture and the food industry,” Florin Barbu said in the press release.

The memorandum also includes cooperation in areas of great importance to Romanian agriculture, such as the wine industry, the development of processing capacities, technology transfer and vocational training, as well as attracting mutual investment.

The memorandum is valid for five years, with the possibility of renewal, and will be implemented through a joint working group that will identify priorities and concrete cooperation projects.

Veterinary protocols also signed

Alexandru Nicolae Bociu, president of the National Authority for Sanitary, Veterinary and Food Safety (ANSVSA) and a member of the same delegation to China, signed three sanitary and veterinary protocols with representatives of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China. These protocols regulate inspection and quarantine conditions for heated poultry meat, dairy products exported from Romania and wild aquatic products destined for the Chinese market.

Technical and food safety issues were an important pillar of the Romanian delegation’s official visit to China. “The signing of these three protocols is the result of sustained technical efforts by ANSVSA specialists to ensure that Romanian products meet the strict requirements of our Chinese partners. Our mission is to provide farmers with the sanitary and veterinary tools needed to export consistently and competitively, contributing to the sustainable development of the sector and rebalancing the Romanian trade balance (…). Our experts have developed a robust technical framework (…) – basically a ‘passport’ for certain types of food, based on professional technical efforts,” President Bociu said.

New opportunity to restore Romania’s negative trade balance in agri-food sector

“It’s official!” wrote Minister Barbu on his social media. “Romania begins exporting to China. Today export protocols were signed between Romania and China for, as mentioned, heated poultry meat, dairy products and aquatic products. Within a maximum of two months we will also begin exporting grains, and we are in advanced talks to begin exporting pork and processed pork products.”

The conclusion of these agreements and the strengthening of the Romanian-Chinese partnership should provide Romanian companies with a stable legal framework and the necessary predictability to access new markets. All this in an effort to strengthen Romania’s position in world trade and contribute to a future improvement of Romania’s trade balance in the agricultural sector.

Injection of about 106 million euros for investments in fruit growing, processing, livestock and renewable energy in the first quarter of the year

Between January and March 2026, the agricultural sector received a capital injection of about 256 million euros from the EU and the state budget. Of this amount, nearly €93 million went to investments in fruit growing, livestock breeding, agri-food processing, rural infrastructure and irrigation systems, while €12.7 million was spent on renewable energy for captive use in the agricultural sector and food industry.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through the mechanisms managed by the Managing Authority for the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 and implemented by the Rural Investment Financing Agency (AFIR), made payments worth more than 1.3 billion lei (the equivalent of about 256 million euros) to beneficiaries in agriculture and the rural environment.

Money is available for farm development, expansion of processing capacities, modernization of basic infrastructure in rural areas, as well as local projects funded through LEADER. At the same time, farmers committed to the environment and climate received EUR 150 million to compensate for lost income.

Of the total amounts paid, about 207 million euros came from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and about 36.4 million euros from the state budget. At the sectoral level, more than €150 million was spent on farmers implementing environmentally friendly and climate measures, while investments in fruit growing, livestock breeding, agri-food processing, rural infrastructure and irrigation systems benefited from funding of nearly €93 million.
In addition, through complementary instruments managed in coördination with the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Rural Affairs, disbursements of more than €12.7 million were made from the Modernization Fund for investments in renewable energy for own use in the agricultural sector and food industry.

Infrastructure Sector

Port of Constanta is still the second port in Europe after Rotterdam

It should be used because it is a huge advantage.

If we look at the route from Asia to Europe, and especially Central and Eastern Europe, we gain 10 days compared to Rotterdam. From the Red Sea, you turn right, sail through Suez, right past Istanbul, and you’re straight into Romania,” Cosmin Pătroiu explained.

Horticulture sector

This is addition to an earlier post

This is in addition to an earlier post, we inform you on behalf of the Agricultural Council that the source of the study on Romanian horticulture is the Dutch Embassy in Bucharest.
Through the link below you can take note of the study:
https://www.agroberichtenbuitenland.nl/documenten/2026/02/24/romanian-greenhouse-sector-study

The Dutch Romanian Network newsletter is compiled with great care. The Dutch Romanian Network cannot accept any liability for a possible inaccuracy and/or incompleteness of the information provided herein, nor can any rights be derived from the content of the newsletter. Articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the board.
All images and photos are taken from Pixabay, so are royalty-free.