Romania is waiting to find out if it will join the EU on schedule in 2007. But even inside the club it is likely to face restrictions on selling its food to other EU countries.

Florica Ilcus, who sells her sheep's cheese in the market in the town of Sibiu, is worried she will have to close when Romania joins because she has not registered her sheep.

Swine fever is endemic in Romania and until it is eradicated pigs cannot be exported to EU member states.

Exports of pork sausages are also banned and Gherghe Bija, boss of the Muvi Impex factory, fears cheap imports from EU states could put him out of business.

Several abattoirs have already closed because they could not afford to modernise. So this farm hand slaughters lambs on site in the old-fashioned way.

Customers choose their lamb from the field and while they watch, the carcass is skinned and prepared for them to take home. The whole process only takes five minutes.

Shepherd Ion Vidrighin (right) has not been able to get any EU funding to improve his farm. He finds the system difficult to understand.

But Ciprian Gherghel decided it was worth taking on all the paperwork to get money. He successfully applied for 250,000 euros (�173,000) to upgrade his dairy.

Mr Gherghel is confident that work will be finished in time for Romania joining in 2007 and thinks he will satisfy EU standards. (Words and pictures by Catherine Miller, BBC.)