Moldovan agriculture experts estimate wheat harvest at level of 2016 year
16:16 | 04.08.2017 Category: Economic
Chisinau, 4 August /MOLDPRES/ - The production of wheat in Moldova will exceed the quantity of one million tons in 2017 and will be at the level of the last year, according to data set forth by Deputy Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Minister Ion Parea.
According to the official, an overall harvest of wheat of 1.15 million tons was forecast in Moldova for this year. Thus, farmers got an average of 3.78 tons of wheat per one hectare, which is by 500 kg more against 2016.
Deputy Minister Ion Parea said that as much as 1.06 million tons of wheat had been harvested so far, which accounts for 93.45 per cent of all the lands sowed with wheat.
“Because of the high temperatures and the drought of the last autumn, farmers sowed the wheat with delay and on smaller areas than in the year before. In spring, however, we enjoyed rains and friendly weather conditions, so the harvest is good,” Deputy Minister Ion Parea noted.
Data by the ministry in charge shows that the biggest wheat harvest was got in the districts of: Briceni, Donduseni, Edinet, Riscani, Ocnita, Floresti, Soroca, Causeni, Cimislia and Taraclia.
Over 70 per cent of the production harvested is the food wheat. Moldova needs 350,000 tons of wheat for the state’s food security. Another 70,000-75,000 tons of wheat will fill the state’s reserve fund and the local market will be supplied with about 500,000 tons. Presently, the price of one kilogram of wheat varies between 2.40 and 2.60 lei on the domestic market.
According to data by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in the world, the wheat production might be of 744 million tons, by 1.8 per cent less than in 2016. FAO said that the decrease would be recorded in 2017, given that farmers from the United States had reduced the wheat plantations in favour of more expensive crops. Nevertheless, more countries from the European Union, as well as Russia, China and India will harvest the same quantity of wheat as in 2016.
(Reporter N. Roibu, editor L. Alcaza)
