Moldovan table grapes producers set to increase export to EU market

Chisinau, 15 April /MOLDPRES/ - Producers and exporters of table grapes have recently brought together at a workshop, in order to discuss possibilities of diversifying the markets for the sale of grapes, after the war in Ukraine hit the logistic chain of export to the eastern markets.  

The event was organized by the High Value Agricultural Activity in Moldova (HVAA) Project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Association of Producers and Exporters of Grapes from Moldova (APESM) and brought together 40 entrepreneurs from various regions of the country.     

According to APESM head Gheorghe Gaberi, about 100,000 tons of table grapes are annually produced in Moldova, of which 60,000-70,000 tons are exported.  Sixty six per cent of them are exported to the traditional market, 28 per cent are exported to EU and 9 per cent to other markets.

For his part, the representative of the USAID HVAA project, Viorel Leahu, said that a good deal of those 44,000 tons earlier exported to the traditional market (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan) are to be redirected to new markets, such as European Union member states. ‘’To turn to good account the potential provided by the European markets, it is necessary that the exporters and producers of table grapes coordinate their activities, so that the grapes meant for export meet the quality and safety requirements of buyers, stricter than the ones on the traditional markets,’’ Leahu noted.  

Exporters of Moldova grapes said that the grapes of the Moldova variety had more advantages on the export markets, such as the unique taste, dark colour of the grapes, long capacity of preservation. At the same time, Moldova must focus its export to the EU market in September-December, when the grapes produced in countries with traditions, such as Chile, Peru, Brazil, etc. are still not delivered. ‘’Yet, more priority actions are to be undertaken, such as the improvement of the grapes’ quality, management of the level of residue of pesticides, correct harvesting, sorting and preservation, implementation of the international standards GlobalG.A.P., GRASP and/or SMETA, diversification of the types of packing. And for long-term, producers accepted the need to diversity the assortment of varieties of table grapes through the testing and adoption of seedless varieties,’’ according to the participants in the workshop.   

The discussions held by the exporters and producers of table grapes will be transposed in an action plan, which will be communicated to all sides and implemented with the involvement of APESM and development partners.

According to UN Comtrade, the exports of table grapes from the harvest of the 2021 year (August-March) were of more than 65,000 tons worth 42 million dollars in all. The best exported variety of grapes is Moldova. On this period, Moldova exported grapes to 20 countries, such as Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Spain, France, USA. About 48 per cent of all exports were sent to Russia.  

Photo: moldovaagro.com