The exports of a number of products from Moldova to the EU, such as grapes, apples and tomatoes, were lower than the quotas stipulated in the Association Agreement. At the request of IPN, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry explained that the export of agrifood products to the EU is influenced by the partial resumption of the export to Russia.

Also, the export is determined by the more favorable prices on the CIS market. In these conditions, the producers tend to return to the traditional export markets. The maintaining of the ban on the import of agrifood products from the EU into Russia contributes to the saturation of the EU market, more difficult access to it and less favorable prices.

According to the Ministry’s data, the producers from Moldova in the first nine months of last year exported to the EU almost 24 tonnes of tomatoes to the value of about US$11,000. Lithuania and Romania are the main countries to which Moldovan tomatoes were exported. The Association Agreement stipulates a quota of 2,000 tonnes. An export quota of 220 tonnes was set for garlic, but no garlic was exported.

The exports of fresh grapes between January 1 and October 1, 2015 came to over 6,000 tonnes to the value of US$1.6 million. The grapes were exported mainly to Romania, Estonia and Spain. The export quota on table grapes is 10,000 tonnes. The Moldovan producers could also export 500 tonnes of grape juice to the EU, but no such juice was exported in January – September 2015.

During the first nine months of last year, the Moldovan producers exported almost 620 tonnes of fresh apples to the value of over US$200,000 to the EU, but could export 40,000 tonnes. Romania, Greece and Bulgaria imported most of the Moldovan apples.

Only 3,000 tonnes of fresh plums to the value of US$898,000, of the 10,000 tonnes possible, were exported to such EU countries as Romania, the Czech Republic and Bulgarian.