Can Agritourism be a Viable Niche Market for the Small Romanian Fruits and Vegetables Producers?

Abstract

The paper investigates the main changes that have taken place in the Romanian fruits and vegetables supply chain over the past twenty years. Its sustainability is assessed using time-series data from different official and private data-bases applying statistic research methods. Results showed that the Romanian supply chain is dominated in terms of both inputs used and offer, by imports originating from different EU countries. The local subsistence and semi-subsistence farms cannot provide enough qualitative and quantitative products such as to penetrate the supermarkets, the main players from the market. Agritourism, a potential niche market, was investigated using sampling techniques. The guesthouses from one of the most important ecotourism destinations where assessed by face-to-face interviews. Results showed that even such short-marketing chains are unsustainable tools for the fresh fruits and vegetables products sectors. The lack of governance for the local producers does not allow them to enter on such niche market. All this findings can provide important incentives for better future targeted sectorial agricultural policies.