Braila

a district in southeastern Rumania, located in the Lower Danubian Plain, partly in the Danube floodplain (Brăila Balta). Area, 4, 800 sq km. Population, 351, 900 (1968). Administrative center, Brăila.

Brăila is basically an agricultural grain region, producing maize, wheat, and barley; the most widespread industrial crops are sunflowers and flax. Vegetables and livestock are raised in the floodplain. There is also fishing and reedworking. Brăila has a food-processing industry, a paper and cellulose industry, woodworking, and a garment industry. It produces building materials and machinery. Brăila is a region of ferrous metallurgy, primarily in the city of Brăila and its environs.

a city in southwestern Rumania; the administrative center of the Brăila district. Population, 144, 600 (1968). Circular in shape, it occupies the left bank of the Danube at the confluence of the river’s two branches. An important transportation center, Brăila is one of the country’s major ports, a terminus for ocean-going vessels. Its basic industries include metalworking and machine building (shipbuilding, the production of machinery for construction and road building), steel-rolling mills, and food industries (especially wineries, flour mills, and distilleries). Brăila also has garment factories, cement plants, and woodworking plants. Nearby, in Chiscani, there is a large combine for the manufacture of cane products and for the production of cellulose, cardboard, synthetic fibers, cord, and so forth.