Moldova can get 5 times higher incomes from exporting grapes

Chisinau, 15 November /MOLDPRES/- Moldova has the capacity to earn revenues from grapes exports five times higher than the current situation. This is the assessment made by several experts who participated today in a national conference in Chisinau on the efficiency of production, storage and marketing of grapes.

“Moldova is one of the largest producers and exporters of grapes in Eastern Europe, doubling its exports over the last five years. However, there is an important disadvantage - the value of grape exports is the smallest compared to the top 40 exporters. Even Afghanistan, which has surpassed Moldova in its exporters' rankings, has got 20% more revenue per ton of grape. Moldova needs strategies to increase the value of grapes and achieve greater profitability in its efforts to develop this sector, given that grapes are the third most important export goods in the category of fresh products,” a report reads.

“The main market of grapes in Moldova is Russia, but this market is unstable and often uncertain. This means that Moldovan producers need to refocus, look for new export targets, but for this it is necessary for the grapes to be of high quality and meet all the requirements to compete on the market ", the representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Andriy Yarmak, said.

Asked about data on import of grapes in Moldova and to what extent it affects domestic producers, especially in the cold season, Andrei Zbancă, specialist in agribusiness, representative of the Moldovan Farmers Federation said that at present, 3-5 tons of grapes are imported in our country. “There are grapes with high-performance properties that are resistant to cold and which are not yet produced in our country, but the tendencies are to increasingly cover the domestic market with domestic products,” the expert said.

In this context, the expert noted “this would be a good marketing topic”. "If Moldova has no cold-resistant grapes, it means that it has to focus on the development of the seasonal market and the growth of early varieties and selling grapes among the first, when they are just growing up elsewhere,” Yarmak said.

Attending the event were delegates from Tajikistan and Italy, representatives of the scientific and business environment, several farmers who presented information and ideas on the efficiency of the production process, competitiveness and increased exports of table grapes. The reports and discussions on the matter also referred to the global trends in the sector, with an analysis compared to the situation in our country. The agenda of the conference included a practical compartment where demonstrations of modern grape production technologies took place.

The conference was supported by FAO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which launched a joint technical assistance project with the participation of Moldova, Georgia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to improve high-value trade opportunities. The project team, made up of international experts in the fresh products industry, aimed to explore various markets to identify bottlenecks and solutions to recover them.