The farmers and workers from the processing industry of Moldova will be the first to benefit from the provisions of the Association Agreement with the EU. With the implementation of the agreement, the Moldovan products will be exported to the largest consumer market in the world, while Moldova will receive more financial support from the EU for developing agriculture. Related statements were made by Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and Minister of Agriculture Vasile Bumacov at the festivity held to mark the Professional Day of the Workers from Agriculture and Processing Industry, IPN reports.
Addressing those attending, Iurie Leanca said that they are the actual ring of what is called food security. “Yesterday, (November 29), we initialed a document of crucial importance in Vilnius (the Association Agreement with the EU – e.n.). We agreed with the EU that the agreement will be signed in 2014. It envisions profound economic integration into the EU. It is the largest market that includes over 500 million consumers,” he stated.
According to the Premier, the European officials announced that all the procedures for liquidating the quotas on the export of Moldovan wine to the EU will be finished on December 10 and from January 1, 2014 Moldova will be able to export wine to the EU market without barriers. “It will be the quality of our products that will count. The opponents of the European integration said the Moldovan market will be invaded by European products, while agriculture will be destroyed. This is not true. Our negotiators managed to obtain a sufficient period of adaptation for the farmers, while the European products will come to Moldova gradually,” said Iurie Leanca.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov said that record harvests have been achieved this year. The agricultural output in 2012 fell by 21% on a year before, while this year it rose by 30% on 2011. “There were collected 3 million tonnes of grain. This year we recovered the 21% lost last year and had a surplus,” he stated.
The minister added that the farmers continue to face infrastructure-related problems, including with the storing and transporting, and this led to the creation of export monopoles. “We now aim to invest more in the development of this infrastructure so as to eliminate the monopole and, implicitly, corruption in this field,” said Vasile Bumacov.
A conference of agriculture ministers of the EaP and EU member states will take place in Chisinau on January 23, 2014. The conference will involve two commissioners – European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos and European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Štefan Füle. A number of support projects of the EU will be discussed in the event.
