Exporters of fruits, berries, honey to get grants for marketing development

Chisinau, 5 October /MOLDPRES/- The project of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) High-Value Agriculture in Moldova (APM) announced funding through grants for the development and implementation of complex export marketing plans, which will help recipient companies adjust their offer to the requirements of a buyer clearly identified. These grants are intended to facilitate the export of fruit, grapes, berries and honey to the European Union market, and the deadline for applications is 1 November.

Grant applications may be submitted by producers, exporters and their organizations (such as producer groups).

The project anticipates the granting of 3-4 grants totaling 1.85 million lei, and the selected beneficiaries will receive individual amounts between 400 and 800 thousand lei. In order to demonstrate commitment to the activity, the applicant must contribute at least 50% of the total amount of the grant activity.

In the last 15 years, Moldovan producers of fruits, table grapes and berries have made substantial investments in expanding the areas of these crops, with an increasing use of intensive production technologies, which have led to an increase in the global harvest of these crops.

According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2010-2020 the total production of these crops at least doubled: apples - from 255 to 665 thousand tons, stone fruits - from 95 to 187 thousand tons, table grapes - from 66 at 126 thousand tons, berries - from 2 to 16 thousand tons. According to the forecasts of the Horticulture Development Program for the years 2021-2025, by 2025 the harvest of these crops will increase by 30-50%. Fresh exports have been the engine of this progress, accounting for about 50% of total production volume.