The farmers will be able to save over €11 million owing to the elimination of the tariff barriers in the EU, said economist of the independent think tank “Expert Grup” Tatiana Savva. This money could be reinvested in the development and modernization of agribusinesses.

In a news conference at IPN, Tatiana Savva said that before the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU, the Moldovan farmers could not export goods to the EU owing to the customs duties and non-tariff barriers, especially the sanitary and phytosanitary measures. The farmers exported mainly to the eastern market as they didn’t have products that they could sell on the European market. The signing of the Association Agreement offers access to a market with over 500 million consumers with a purchasing power that is five times higher than of the consumers from the traditional markets of the CIS states, especially Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

Tatiana Savva noted that the Association Agreement with the EU protects the rights of the national producers as the import taxes for European producers will be kept for a period of three to ten years. It is a period of adjustment to the new rulers offered to the Moldovan producers.

“The signing of the Association Agreement also means that we will have to harmonize the legislation in terms of sanitary and phytosanitary measures so that our products meet the requirements on the EU market and become much more competitive on this market,” stated Tatiana Savva.

Owing to this accord, up to €120 million will be provided in 2015-2017 for restructuring the agricultural sector.

The Association Agreement between Moldova and the European Union took effect provisionally on September 1, 2014.