Conflicts Of Interests Spark Rumours: Fertilizers, The Diet of The Agricultural Sector

The chemical fertilizers market is no longer asking politicians for support, as politicians themselves are involved in business on the fertilizers market. The draft law initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture to offer financial support to farmers wanting to buy chemical fertilizers was (at least) studied by PSD"s Vasile Bacila, an adviser on such topics to Agriculture Minister Ilie Sarbu.

Mr. Bacila is famed for being one of the major players on the fertilizers market. Since 2005, he holds 50% in S.C. Cris Agrofert S.R.L, an active player on the chemical fertilizers market. Malevolent rumours have it that Mr. Bacila has 6,000 tons of chemical fertilizers (urea) blocked in Constanta Harbour. However, Mr. Bacila begged to differ: "The company only has 120 tons, and it is not imported through Constanta Harbour, but bought from the domestic market.

The fate of the draft law is quite interesting: it was submitted to the European Commission for certification that it was not a form of State aid and rejected. The same malevolent rumours have it that Vasile Bacila orchestrated such rejection because the draft laws was bad for his business. Little does it matter whether it is true or not.

The moral to this political - economic fable is that never should a public employee place himself in a position where a potential conflict of interests may arise. If you don"t consider this principle, you could end up like Vasile Bacila. And while we are busy with rumours and denials, spring is coming and farmers are thirsty for fertilizers.