The areas planted with fruit trees over the last two years increased three times, while the areas planted with vine – two times. Specialists say that the Moldovan farmers started to give priority to sorts that are well-known in Europe, to the detriment of the national sorts that would make the Moldovan products more popular on the European market, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the Agency for Payments and Interventions in Agriculture, over 5,000 hectares of orchards have been planted in Moldova in 2011-2012. Most of the areas are planted with apple, plum and peach trees. The most popular apple sorts are Idared, Golden, and Florina. Mihai Suvac, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, said that the Moldovan farmers plant apple sorts that are well-known in Europe, to the detriment of the traditional ones. The nurseries no longer plant such sorts as Tiganca, which are resistant to pests and disease. An apple of this sort weighs 600 grams in August already. According to the specialist, the farmers should not give up planting traditional sorts for Moldova as the national products are valued on the European market. Mihai Suvac also said that even if the cherries are in demand on the home market and the state offers subsidies for planting cherry orchards, the agricultural producers do not show interest because they need many workers to collect the cherries when they are ripe. The producers prefer to cultivate crops that can be grown and harvested easier. As to vineyards, they have been extended by 6,000 hectares in area over the last three years. Moldova and Codreanca are the most popular sorts of grapes.