Moldova's milk industry faces long-lasting crisis - study

Chisinau, 18 May /MOLDPRES/ - The milk producers of Moldova face a long-lasting crisis; their production has decreased by 38 per cent in the last ten years, according to a study recently made by the Investments Agency.  

The study’s goal was to carry out a thorough analysis of the situation in the dairy products’ industry and to provide data needed for the working out of an investment plan, which assesses the investments and actions which can be undertaken to increase the milk production.  

„A sharp decrease in the milk production was registered in the last years, from 485,000 tons in 2017 to 367,000 tons in 2019; as well as an increase in imports, by 22 per cent annually, reaching about 58 million dollars in 2019. The same negative trend, which confirms the crisis of the milk production industry, is registered also by the animal husbandry industry; the number of cows dropped from 154,000 heads in 2011 to 81,000 in 2020, while as little as 6 per cent of the milk used for processing comes from agricultural enterprises,’’ the study shows.    

As a result, the Investments Agency elaborated an investment plan, which estimates the investments necessary for the creation of a type-farm with 400 cows. Subsequently, the investments will be estimated nationally, in order to establish the needed amount of investments in Moldova.  

The investment plan includes the purchasing of pregnant cows and fodder needed for their maintenance, technical equipment and means, agricultural technology, construction of stables, as well as the creation of a record system. These actions will contribute to the increase in the number of cows from 4,000 heads to 63,000, at farms and, respectively, to the increase in the production of milk by these enterprises up to 317,000 tons, with the share growing from 6 to 60 per cent. To achieve this goal, an investment of 12,979 million lei is necessary.

According to study’s statistics, 94 per cent of the Moldovan milk is produced by private households and only 6 per cent of the milk used for processing comes from agricultural enterprises. At the same time, only 5 per cent of the number of cows available belongs to agricultural enterprises, which means that Moldova, in fact, does not have a well-established animal husbandry industry, as most cows are owed and used households and not by industry.  

Data by the National Statistics Bureau shows that Moldova registers a negative commercial balance of the dairy products, with an average annual decrease of -28 per cent. The imports exceeded the exports by almost 52 million dollars in 2019. In 2015, this index was worth about 20 million dollars. Respectively, the commercial balance had a negative trend of -161 per cent in the last five years.  

photo: vestnikapk.ru