● MONDAY, August 15

Veaceslav Ioniță: Key rate hike led to 70% increase in lending rates

By increasing the key rate, the National Bank of Moldova is discouraging loans, including investment ones, explains the economist Veaceslav Ioniță, of the IDIS Viitorul think-tank. According to him, the measure has led to a 70% increase on average in the interest rates on new loans granted by commercial banks this year.

The central bank recently raised the key rate to 21.5%, this being the tenth increase this year.

Increased energy efficiency with EU, UNDP support

Residents of five blocks of flats in different parts of the country will benefit from modern horizontal heat distribution and hot water supply systems, and three hospitals will be equipped with photovoltaic systems for generating electricity. This is thanks to a EU-funded energy efficiency project, implemented by the UNDP. With the opportunity still open, managers of blocks of flats are invited to apply by 29 August, and hospital managers by 2 September, the UNDP announced in a press release.

Gasoline price drops below 26 lei

Fuel prices at the pump continue to drop for the seventh consecutive week, as the national energy regulator ANRE updated the maximum price of 95-ocatane gasoline at 25.98 lei, a 0.25 lei drop from the previous price cap update. A liter of diesel fuel is capped at 25.65 lei, decreasing 0.08 lei.

Moldova Fruct demands measures for unblocking apple exports to Russia

The Moldova Fruct Association is concerned about the difficult situation faced by fruit growers because of the drought and the restrictions imposed on Moldovan exports by Russia, demanding that a state of emergency be introduced in agriculture. The Association submitted to the Government, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Industry and the National Agency for Food Safety a list of necessary measures to be taken to overcome the situation.

Iurie Fală, executive director of Moldova Fruct, told IPN that because of the drought, fruit growers expect smaller yields of plums and apples. Moreover, they will have difficulty selling them. “And if the market for plums has been diversified in recent years, the situation will be tough for apples. Of the 255,000 tonnes of apples exported from the 2021 harvest, 231,000 tonnes reached the Russian market”, explained Iurie Fală.

● TUESDAY, August 16

Moldovagaz audit cost announced

Moldova will pay 15.7 million lei for an audit of the Moldovagaz debts, commissioned to the Norwegian firm Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma and the UK-based Forensic Risk Alliance. Under the contract, the two companies undertake to audit the debts for the gas supplied to Moldova, excluding the Transnistrian region, by January 30, 2023. The contract value, 15,742,640 lei to be precise, was announced on the website of the Public Services Agency. The two consulting firms have been commissioned following direct negotiation procedures, as decided by the State of Emergency Commission.

Moldovan producers encouraged to export fruits to EU

More and more entrepreneurs are aligning their products to European standards to access new markets in the West, while many others are already fully enjoying the advantages of the Moldova-EU Association Agreement. The European Union remains Moldova’s most important and reliable economic partner, even in the most difficult periods, the EU Delegation to Moldova said in a press release.

All Moldovan producers are welcome to export their fruit to the EU, regardless of their region, says the Delegation.

Car numbers growing 25% slower this year

This year, Moldovans continue to buy cars, but at a much more moderate pace than last year, estimates economist Veaceslav Ioniță, of the IDIS Viitorul think-tank. As of August 1, about 734,000 cars were registered in Moldova, an increase of 16,900 cars compared to 2021. This year, the number of registered cars increases by 2,100 each month, which is 25% less than in 2021, when there was a record increase, of 38,900 for the whole year, or 3,200 each month. According to Veaceslav Ioniță, this trend affects state budget revenues. Whereas in the first semester last year the state budget collected 591 million lei from excise duties on imported vehicles, this year the collected amount is 45 million lei smaller, and is only 545 million lei.

● WEDNESDAY, August 17

Maia Sandu says Russian fruit ban might be politically motivated

President Maia Sandu suspects the motive behind Russia’s ban on Moldovan fruit exports could be political rather than economic. If this is true, she says, the Government should do more to find new markets. “It is in our interest that our products meet the standards, especially since our exports go to much more rigorous markets as well: the European market is more rigorous than the Russian one. And if a technical problem arises, we want to be sure that it is technical and then we solve it. But when on the list of areas that are barred from exporting to Russia we don’t see areas where problems were previously detected, then we ask ourselves if it is an economic problem or rather a political one”, Maia Sandu said in an interview with NordNews.

● THURSDAY, August 18

Ukraine war turns Moldova into important petroleum products exporter, economist

The war in Ukraine has turned Moldova into an important exporter of petroleum products, says economist Veaceslav Ioniță, of the IDIS Viitorul think-tank. The Republic of Moldova used to export petroleum products before, but only in the order of 10-20 million dollars annually, or 2.5-5 million dollars quarterly. The war in Ukraine suddenly transformed our country into a regional player in the petroleum market. Moldova’s exports of petroleum products in a single quarter increased 50 times and reached 190 million dollars in the second quarter of 2022.

● SATURDAY, August 20

Fuel prices up slightly in latest adjustment

Over the weekend, gasoline will sell at the pump for a maximum of 25.69 lei (+0.08 leu) and diesel fuel for 25.94 lei (+0.16 leu). The national energy regulator ANRE, which adjusts price maximums regularly, says that after two months of global prices going down, the trend appears to be reversing. This week, fuel prices grew slightly, by 0.3% for COR-95 gasoline and 1.1% for standard diesel, after eight consecutive weeks of decline.

New loans granted in July 17.6% down

New loans granted by banks in July of this year decreased by 17.6 percent compared to July 2021, totaling 3.637 billion lei, the National Bank reported.

53.1 percent represent loans in the national currency, 44.4 percent loans in foreign currency, and 2.4 percent are loans tied to the currency exchange rate. The most popular were loans maturing in 2 to 5 years, or 58.3 percent of the total. By value, they accounted for 45.5 of the total. The average nominal rate for new loans granted in the national currency was 12.79 percent, for those in foreign currency 4.27 percent, and for those tied to the currency rate 4.37 percent.