FOOD SITUATION IN RUMANIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A006600480008-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 12, 2007
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: May 5, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2007/12/12 : CIA-RDP80-0081 OA006600480008-2
INFORMATION REPORT I ~FORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
C--O-N-F I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L
SUBJECT Food Situation in Rumania
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
REPORT
DATE DISTR. 5 May 1955
NO. OF PAGES 3
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
.REFERENCES
This is UNEVALUATED
Information-PPRA4AAL OF . CONTENT IS TFNTATIVF
1. At the'present time bread is sold by tickets (pe cartela) or on the free
market. Only those who enjoy the right to work and are, according to the
official Rumanian expression, encompassed in "the field of work"., are
able to obtain the tickets. Bread bought through the use of tickets is of
the dark variety, made of 10 percent wheat flour and the remainder of sun-
flower flour (soarelui floarea), which is a kind of Soviet bread made
according to a Soviet receipe. The loaf weighs one kilogram and is priced
at 1.20 lei.
2. Almost all Rumanians eat the sunflower bread. It is very rare that pure
wheat bread can be bought with tickets. White French bread, made in .
long thin loaves weighing 500 grams can be bought only on the free market
and costs 3.28 lei per one-half kilogram. Common white wheat bread is
also available on the free market and costs 1.60 lei per kilogram. 25X1
However, this kind of bread'is not made exclusively of wheat, but con-
tains some kind of additive. The bread looks good and is expensive, but
it tastes like straw.
3. Wheat, flour can be bought directly from the producer; that is, the
peasants who have the right to sell it after giving their prescribed
quota to the State. The peasants sell-the flour at ). to 5 lei per kilo-
gram on the free market, called ilOborff, located south of Bucharest.
Finer flour used for pastry costs 6 lei per kilogram.
4. From time to time, the Communists stock good flour in the special State
stores known as flAlimentarall. This usually precedes occasions of great
Communist celebrations, such as 1 May, 23 August, 7 November, etc.
The profit, in fact, is enormous since the State buys wheat from the
peasants at a forced sale of 38 bani. per kilogram and resells it at 4
lei per kilogram, which is almost ten times higher. The flour disappears
from the State stores at a rapid rate because it is stocked in very
small quantities.
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;x FBI AEC
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Field distribution by "#".)
INFORMATION REPORT I N FORMATION REPORT
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5. Corn flour is very
much in use in-Rumania. It is cooked for long hours,
seasoned with cheese or other fat, and is known-as "mamaliga". Bread for
diabetics can be bought in certain State stores, but the buyer must have
a physician's prescription.
6. On the free market, beef costs 20 to 25 lei per kilogram, according to
the cut; mutton costs 16 to-20 lei per kilogram; and pork, which is sold
generally in the wintertime, costs 25 to 30 lei per kilogram. If pork is
sold at cheaper rates there is a risk *o the consumer that the animal was
sick.- Veterinarians advise the producers of pork to boil it before selling..
7. Meat can be bought with tickets only in large towns, especially in in-
dustrial towns such as Bucharest, Stalin, Timisoara, Resita, Ploesti, etc.
Nevertheless, meat is distributed irregularly, generally every second
Saturday. The sale of meat is the responsibility of the State store within
the district and the consumer is obliged to accept whatever cut is available.
Since the quantity of meat is very modest., it is generally sold out while
people are still waiting in line.
8. Salami is sold in State stores at a price of 14 to 18 lei.per kilogram,
according to its categories. All salami is of inferior quality and it is
generally believed to be made from the meat of donkeys, dogs, etc.., since
the ingredients cannot be controlled.' Poisonings by salami are very
frequent. The famous salami of Sibiu, in Transylvania, which is of the
Italian type, is not sold in State stores. It is available only to the
Communist bosses and the large restaurants and hotels such as the
"Pescarus" and the Athenee palace.
9. Canned food can almost always be bought in State stores. It is varied
enough and generally packed in cans of half a kilogram. In the summer of
1954, there was mostly a sort of canned salad of egg-plant mixed with two
or three pieces of meat. The salad was prepared for the Russians, but
they refused to eat it so it became available to the Rumanians. There are
small quantities of canned beans and canned peas of inferior quality.,
Canned beaf, either as schnitzel or as goulash, is sold at 10 to 12 lei
in cans of half a kilogram.. All types of canned food are not sold. every
day. The food stores are under strict orders to sell only a certain variety,
such as beans, on determined days.
10. Wheat paste, such as macaroni, spaghetti, and veriiieelli, are sold on the
free market at 8 to 12 lei per kilogram. A kind of rye paste (orzisoara)
can also be obtained. At the present time, rice is available and the
newspapers advertise the days on which it is sold. It.costs about 9 lei
per kilogram., the price varying according to the quality. Recently,
Chinese rice which was imported in exchange for petroleum and meat has been
available. It is sold at a cost of about 12 lei per kilogram, but it is
a much tastier rice than the usual variety.
11. Jam, of poor quality, can always be found in boxes., without tickets, at
5 to 8 lei per kilogram. A great quantity of jam was exported to Austria
in July 1954, but it was turned back from Vienna because it did not meet
Austrian requirements. Honey costs 25' lei per kilogram and can be bought
from peasants on the free market of Obor.
12. White cheese such as "telemea" or "branza de Braila" cannot be found in
Bucharest but may be obtained in other sections of the country. Fat white
cheese in Constants costs 16 to 18 lei per kilogram. Mountain cheese, made
exclusively from goat milk,, costs 24 to 26 lei per kilogram.
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13. Since 1953, the number of small shops has increased. These stores are
generally located on street corners and often face both streets. They
usually consist of only one small room and they sell marW,varied goods,
especially food and the small merchandise such as needles, threads,
buttons, etc.
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Approved For Release 2007/12/12 : CIA-RDP80-0081 OA006600480008-2