Al Dahra Stops Grain Trading in Romania Due to Losses in the Black Sea Market
Al Dahra Holding has decided to cease its grain trading operations in Romania, highlighting the challenging situation for international grain traders in the oversaturated and competitive Black Sea market. It is known that Al Dahra plans to wind down its activities in this segment by 2026 after three consecutive years of financial losses.
This is reported by AgroReview
Reasons for Al Dahra’s Exit from the Romanian Grain Market
According to sources familiar with the situation, the company will continue to develop agricultural production and fertilizer manufacturing business in Romania. However, grain trading will be gradually phased out. Anonymous sources emphasize that they are not authorized to openly discuss the company’s internal decisions.
Al Dahra’s exit is an indicator of changes in the market dynamics of one of the leading grain-exporting countries in the European Union. After 2022, when trade flows changed due to regional events, the port of Constanta transformed into an important transit hub, attracting the attention of many international traders.
Increased Competition and Financial Losses
However, with Ukraine restoring full access to the Black Sea route, the volume of grain exports from Romania has decreased. This has led to increased competition for increasingly smaller grain batches, negatively impacting traders’ profits and intensifying cost pressures.
“Trading has turned into a survival game, where only the strongest survive,” said Razi over the phone.
Earlier this year, the American company Andersons Inc. also exited the Romanian grain trading market. According to the Romanian Ministry of Finance, Al Dahra’s trading division lost about 123 million Romanian lei (28.1 million dollars) from 2022 to 2024.
Al Dahra first appeared in Romania in 2018 when it acquired Agricost, a company with over 50,000 hectares of agricultural land, and announced investments of 500 million dollars. According to information on its official website, the grain trading division was established in 2020 and developed cooperation with the Moroccan company OCP SA in supplying fertilizers to local farmers.
No comments were received from Al Dahra representatives in response to inquiries, and the office in Bucharest recommended contacting them via email.