● MONDAY, August 4

Only 20% of Moldovan fruit is competitive on EU market, Agrarian University rector 

Only 20% of the fruit in Moldova can be exported to the EU as they meet the European quality standards. To be able to sell the other 80% of the fruit, the agricultural producers must invest in technologies, said the rector of the State Agrarian University of Moldova Gheorghe Cimpoes. The rector said the market requirements are very strict and the Moldovan producers cannot fulfill them. Considerable investments are needed as the technologies are costly. The EU standards are known in Moldova, but not many producers made effort to implement them as they could export to Russia without meeting many conditions.

Triticales, hybrids of wheat and rye, to be grown in Moldova 

The range of grains in the agricultural sector could be extended. Scientists of the Institute of Genetics, Physiology and Plant Protection of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova created a new species of grains called triticale, which is a hybrid of wheat and rye. The Moldovan scientists cultivated this hybrid on fields in Radoaia village of Sangerei district to test its resistance to weather conditions and its utility.

Exports are evidently reoriented to EU market 

Moldova’s economy shows signs of more evident reorientation to the EU market. Exports to the EU member states in the first five months of this year rose by over 22%, while to the Commonwealth of Independent States fell by almost 19%. As a result, 53.8% of Moldova’s exports went to the EU and only 31.88% to the CIS, as opposed to 44.8% and 39.9% respectively in the corresponding period last year. The data are presented by the Independent Analytical Center “Expert-Grup” in the 47th monthly publication “Economic Realities”. “Expert-Grup” says the reorientation of exports is not only geographical, but also product-based. The export of about 65% of the categories of products sold by Moldova abroad in January – May increased.

Russian experts invited to Moldova to analyze phytosanitary state of fruit and vegetables 

The National Food Safety Agency sent a letter to the administration of the Russian phytosanitary service “Rosselhoznadzor”, inviting Russian experts to Moldova to assess the phytosanitary state and control mechanism of the fruit and vegetables, the Agency’s director Ion Sula announced in the program “Public space” on Radio Moldova station. The director said the producers from Moldova made considerable progress. “We can guarantee that our products are safe and pose no threats,” he stated.

Agriculture subsidization fund for 2015 will be doubled 

Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov is convinced that the agriculture subsidization fund will be doubled from 500,000 lei to 1 billion lei in 2015. In the program “Without myths” of “Panorama” newspaper, the minister said that owing to the EU funding, agricultural subsides of 1 billion lei will be distributed from next year.

● TUESDAY, August 5

Gagauzia sends information about its orchards to Moscow 

A special commission set up by the administration of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia finished inspecting the orchards in the region. The information will be sent to Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance “Rosselhoznadzor”. According to the official website of the Gagauz administration, after the information is sent to Moscow, a Russian group of experts will come to southern Moldova to examine the state of fruit.

Russia accuses Moldova of forging documents for exporting fruit 

The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of Russia “Rosselhoznadzor” accused Moldova of using false documents to continue supplying fruit to the Russian market and ordered sending back a consignment of 230 tonnes of plums and apples to Moldova. According to a communiqué of the Russian authority, at the end of July Moldova sent to Russia 17 units of transport loaded with apples and plums that were accompanied by documents signed before July 21, when Russia imposed a ban on the import of fruit from Moldova.

Russia’s ban caused damage of millions of dollars 

Moldova’s exports of alcoholic beverages in the first three months of this year fell by 28%. Exports to the CIS in the period decreased two times following the ban imposed by Russia on the import of Moldovan wine. The study was carried out based on the information collected from 18 Moldovan wine companies that exported large quantities of wine to Russia. The losses of these and other companies that supplied wine to Russia in 2013 alone exceeded US$18 million.

Can producers seek help from Government 

The Association of Can Producers of Moldova “Speranta-Con” calls on the Government to take measures to prevent the bankruptcy of the processing industry. Representatives of can producers told a news conference that following the ban imposed by Russia on the import of cans from Moldova, the national canneries sustained losses of over 200 million lei. The head of “Speranta-Con” Ivan Sandic said that the Moldovan canneries by August 1 produced cans to the value of 287 million lei, which is about 28,000 tonnes of cans. Most of the finished products were to be exported to Russia and were now stored. Owing to the ban imposed by Russia, the companies will be unable to sell them over the next 6-9 months.

Over 1.1m tonnes of wheat harvested this year 

The wheat reaping season is over. The farmers collected over 1.1 million tonnes of wheat, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov said while on a trip accompanied by journalists. As many as 456,000 hectares were sowed with grains in 2014. 315,500 hectares or almost 70% were sowed with winter wheat, 60,000 hectares with winter barley, 30,000 hectares with rape, while 35,000 hectares with spring barley. The average yield is 3.5 tonnes of wheat per hectare.

● WEDNESDAY, August 6

Agriculture subsidization fund will be raised by €5m provided by EU 

The agriculture subsidization fund is now 564.7 million lei, but it will be increased by €5 million, which was promised by the European Commission in assistance, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov told a news conference. He said that the subsidization fund is now insufficient given that Russia imposed a ban on the import of wine, fruit and cans and they are looking for resources to augment it. Referring to the protests planned by agricultural producers from northern Moldova, Vasile Bumacov noted that nothing will be solved by protests. Moreover, some of the politicians profit from the tense situation that they caused by making approaches to Moscow in a move to manipulate the people.

Winemakers urged to produce wine from national sorts of grape 

The wine consumers from the EU and the U.S. want to purchase Moldovan wine made from local original sorts of grape. Therefore, the authorities urge the winemakers to make wine from sorts discovered and grown in Moldova. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Gheorghe Gaberi told the journalists that the nurseries now started to more often grow vines hybridized with national sorts or sorts selected in Moldova. The Moldovan sorts are more resistant and appropriate for this territory. The journalists were able to see how hybrid vines and saplings are grown in a modern nursery. The deputy minister said that now the Moldovan farmers can purchase cuttings and saplings twice cheaper than the imported ones, which are not always of the best quality. Many fruit and grape growers now suffer the consequences because they earlier bought cuttings and saplings of a poor quality from abroad and the harvest is low.

Wine businesses seek assistance from state in solving faced problems 

The managers of a number of wine companies called on the authorities to intervene and remedy the difficult financial situation in which they found themselves after Russia imposed a ban on the import of Moldovan wine last September. In the debates held within the launch of a study of the financial situation of the wine industry following the restrictions imposed by Russia, Eugen Pislaru, deputy chairman of the Association of Wine Producers and Exporters of Moldova, said the situation is critical, the companies being forced to finance current activities from the long-term debts.

Government will compensate apple and plum growers and producers for their losses 

The fruit growers and processors will receive compensations from the state budget or from the assistance provided by international financial organizations so that they are able to develop their businesses and pay salaries to employees, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said in a meeting held with fruit growers and processors following the ban imposed by Russia. “The situation is difficult, but we must not despair. We will not allow the processing industry to go bankrupt as it is very important for our economy,” stated the Premier.

Moldova fulfills all commercial commitments agreed with Russia and CIS, officials 

Moldova fulfills all the commercial commitments agreed at bilateral level with Russia and within the Commonwealth of Independent States. Thus, the Russian Government’s decision to modify the conditions of importing Moldovan products is groundless and contrary to the agreements between the two states and with the CIS. The subject was discussed in a working meeting centering on the legal and commercial aspects of the Russian Government’s decision to impose import duties on a series of Moldovan products from September 1 and non-tariff restrictions on products of vegetal origin from Moldova. According to a communiqué of the Government, decision makers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and the heads of the Customs Service and the National Food Safety Agency presented the results of the analysis of Russian authorities’ decisions.

Information about business financing possibilities becomes more accessible 

The economic entities will be able to inform themselves better about the opportunities of financing businesses from the resources of the Government of Moldova, the governments of other countries and of the international financial organizations by accessing the website www.finatare.gov.md. The portal was devised by the secretariat of the Prime Minister’s Economic Council as a result of consultations with representatives of the business community, who said that the access to financial resources, especially for a long term, is one of the major problems faced by the private sector. The money attracted by the Government of Moldova from different development partners of the country for directly financing businesses will contribute to solving these problems.

● THURSDAY, August 7

NBM reviews inflation rate for 2014 and 2015 down 

The National Bank of Moldova (NBM) projected an average rate of inflation of 4.7% for 2014, 0.5 percentage points down compared with the April projection. For 2015, the inflation is forecast at 3.5%, a decrease of 0.8 percentage points. NBM governor Dorin Dragutanu said the new forecasts put the inflation rate for the next eight quarters at an interval of plus-minus 1.5 percentage points from the bank’s inflation target of 5%. Though, it’s not excluded that the inflation may temporarily go under the set limit. In the third quarter of this year, the inflation will diminish slightly, while starting with the fourth quarter the rise in the general level of prices will slowdown significantly, especially owing to the sudden diminution of food prices’ contribution.

Government proposes solutions to agricultural producers 

The Government will compensate the difference between the prices at which the processing factories will buy plums and apples and their real cost and will make effort to extend the commercial relations with Belarus and Kazakhstan. But it will demand that the producers provide fruit and vegetables of a higher quality so that they could be sold both in Moldova and abroad, Prime Iurie Leanca said in a meeting with agricultural producers from northern Moldova in Edinet. “I want to have a dialogue with farmers and producers, not with politicians. We should hear each other. I think there are solutions and we must identify them. The situation is difficult, but not unsolvable. I came to discuss the problems of those that really make effort and perspire,” said the Premier when some of those attending tried to destabilize the situation.

Thirty applicants authorized to work on electronic communications market 

Thirty legal entities were included in the Public Register of Providers of Electronic Communications Networks and Services in the first half of this year. On July 1, 2014, the number of those authorized to work on this market came to 529. Of the 30 providers included in the register, 22 are new entities that entered the market, 8 are former holders of technical licenses allowing working in the telecommunications sector, obtained before 2008 in accordance with the Telecommunications Law that was in force at that time. Thirteen providers in the period were struck off the register for the reason that they didn’t perform activities in this area.

Restrictions imposed by Russia will be felt on currency market only in the short term 

The toughening up of the conditions of trading with Russia affects the foreign currency flow to Moldova and the situation on the currency market, but in the short term only, the governor of the National Bank of Moldova Dorin Dragutanu said when asked about the impact of the ban on the import of Moldovan fruit imposed by the Russian authorities. “It’s hard to assess the short-term effect of this shock as all the possible compensations provided by the commercial and development partners of Moldova and producers’ reorientation to other markets should be taken into account,” Dorin Dragutantu explained.

● FRIDAY, August 8

Central bank confirms banks’ wish to help producers and processors of fruit 

The banks will help the agricultural producers to overcome the difficult situation in which they found themselves after the imposition of bans by Russia, as they promised, the governor of the National Bank of Moldova Dorin Dragutanu said in a news conference. He noted that the top priority now is to help the growers of apples, plums and other fruit and the processors. “The banks are not interested in seeing the economic entities going bankrupt and in dispossessing them of security. They want to provide loans that would bring then interest. The situation is not easy for banks either and they will discuss with every debtor from among producers and processors so as to determine the impact on them and identify solutions in every case apart to enable the economic entities to avoid bankruptcy,” stated Dorin Dragutanu.

PM calls on farmers to resume work, assures them of compensation 

Prime Minister Iurie Leanca discussed measures to improve the situation in the agricultural sector with a group of farmers in Balti town in the evening of August 7. The farmers put their agricultural machines in the middle of the road in protest at the restrictions imposed by Russia on the import of Moldovan fruit. According to the Government’s press service, the Premier called on the farmers to return to the fields and to gather their harvest as the factories are ready to process the fruit.

Methods of exporting Moldovan vegetal products discussed with Rosselhoznadzor 

The administration of the National Food Safety Agency of Moldova (ANSA) had a discussion with the administration of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Rosselhoznadzor within a video conference. The sides discussed the implementation of a system for tracing the products of vegetal origin that are to be exported to Russia. ANSA director general Ion Sula has told that such a traceability mechanism is now implemented in Russia and the states of the Customs Union and was also proposed to Moldova, given that it exports products of vegetal origin to Russia. Thus, Moldova is to implement the system "Mercury” that is still tested in Russia.

● SATURDAY,  August 9

 First table grapes packing house in Moldova will be ready in 2015 

The first table grapes packing house in Moldova will start work in Costesti village of Ialoveni district in 2015. The construction works are underway. Director general of the National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) Ion Sula has told that Moldova has great possibilities of exporting table grapes to the EU, but, for being sold, they must be of a high quality and packed appropriately. Therefore, effort is to be made not only by the ANSA, but also by the agricultural producers. The national products must be promoted.

Economic entities invited to November Tourism Fair in Bucharest 

The Tourism Agency of Moldova invites tour operators, travel agencies, tourism authorities and professional associations, accommodation facilities, tourist and health resorts to take part in the 32nd Romanian Tourism Fair. The Tourism Fair will take place at the Exhibitions Center “Romexpo” in Bucharest on November 13-16, 2014. According to a note of the Tourism Agency, the event is a favorable occasion for presenting the most interesting offers and tourist attractions from Moldova and abroad. The fair includes offers of cultural, rural, treatment and business tourism, exotic destinations, cruises and adventure trips.

Permanent stand with Moldova’s tourist offers opened in China 

A permanent stand that will promote Moldovan tourist and wine products was opened in Shuangdu town in Chengdu province of China. Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov and director general of the Tourism Agency Nicolae Platon attended the opening of the stand on August 8. Vasile Bumacov spoke about Moldova’s accomplishments in agriculture, the export possibilities and the readiness to supply the People’s Republic of China with wine products.

Central bank provides benefits to agricultural producers 

The periods of delay in repaying the loans provided to economic entities will be increased by 90 days on average, it is said in a decision approved by the Administration Board of the National Bank of Moldova. The decision, which will take effect on December 31, 2015, specifies the categories of economic entities entitled to such benefits, namely those that perform fruit and vegetable cultivation, processing, canning or selling activities, produce, process and can meat, grow grapes and make and sell wine and wine products. The banks will class the loans provided to these debtors as losses if the period of delay in paying interest on the loans will exceed 450 days, not 360 days, as the National Bank’s regulations stipulate.