First Moldovan bilberries are grown on soil ‘imported’ from Belarus

The first plantation of bilberries in Moldova was set up owing to the possibility of bringing soil from  Belarus. The Moldovan soil turned out to be not sufficiently acid for these berries that grow naturally in forests in such countries as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, Iurie Tarai, manager of the company “Lolly Berry”, which is the first and only producer of bilberries in Moldova, said during a trip to his plantation in Dolna village of Straseni district, staged for journalists, bloggers and ordinary consumers, IPN reports.

Iurie Tarai said that by the Agricultural Competiveness and Enterprise Development Project financed by the U.S., he obtained about half a million lei for purchasing and brining several dozen tonnes of soil from Belarus. These berries do not grow on soil with low acidity like that in Moldova and need swampy soil, as in the natural environment. The cuttings needed for planting 10 ha with bilberries were brought from Poland. The plantation is only two-years-old, but already started to yield. The berries are gathered by hand by inhabitants of Dolna and of neighboring villages, who are paid for their work.

According to Iurie Tarai, the bilberry bushes grow up to two meters in height. Even 7 kg of berries can be collected from an adult bush. A bilberry plantation grows and yields during over 50 years. “The Americans say bilberry growing is not our business, but the business of our grandchildren,” Iurie Taran stated while presenting his plantation.

The bilberries “Lolly Berry” are sold in almost all the large shops of Chisinau municipality. The producer sells a kilogram of bilberries for 250-300 lei, depending on the purchased quantity. In shops, a container with 125 gr of bilberries costs minimum 49 lei. Iurie Tarai said the people from such Nordic countries as Norway and Finland are the biggest consumers of bilberries and other berries. The producer still faces difficulties in the process of exporting the berries because there is no certification lab in Moldova. On the international market, there is always a shortage of bilberries of about 20%, the demand being always larger than the supply.

The visit to the only bilberry plantation in Moldova was organized by the information portal Madein.md in partnership with the public association “Pomusoarele Moldovei” (“Moldova’s berries”). Gennady Sandu, executive director of the association that includes Iurie Tarai’s company, said the berry growing sector in Moldova is yet poorly developed, but the plantations of gooseberry, raspberry and blackberry set up during the last few years in several years will yield enough berries for satisfying at least the internal demand.

According to Gennady Sandu, berry growing has development prospects and can bring revenues to those who venture into such a business, but work is to be done to also promote the berries. “They say a person must eat at least seven berries a day to be healthy,” stated the director of “Pomusoarele Moldovei”.