The Republic of Moldova is about to become a net agrifood importing country despite holding the complete opposite position some three years ago. The stagnation of the Moldovan agrifood sector is the result of the inefficient use of the natural, material and human resources, - these are the highlights of the diagnostic study titled “The Export Potential of the Agrifood Sector”, launched Tuesday, October 21, by the Social Initiative Institute IDIS Viitorul, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the survey, in recent years the share of agrifood exports in the total Moldovan exports has decreased dramatically, from 61 percent in 2004 to 39.9 percent in 2007. While in 1997 agrifood exports were valued at some $500m, their value decreased to $300m by 2007. IDIS Viitorul's economic expert Viorel Chivriga remarked at a series of economic debates on the issue that this decline is a consequence of a rigid approach displayed by both agrifood producers and exporters as well as by the authorities. “The destabilizing factors for the agrifood sector remain to be strong decapitalization, poor mechanization, limited access to solutions for improving outputs, the fragility of the rural market. The Moldovan agricultural market is marked by instability, strong price fluctuations, a lack of balance between supply and demand for vegetal production, frequent threats to the country's food security”, said Chivriga. According to the study, exports of livestock and meat products in the period 2005-2007 decreased even more because of systemic problems in the animal husbandry sector and also because of the effects of the trade policies carried out by the authorities. On the other hand, statistics show that agrifood imports into Moldova have been increasingly growing once the old agrifood system inherited from the 90s collapsed. Whereas in 1997 Moldova imported agrifood products valued at $50m, by 2007 their value rose fivefold to $250m. According to the experts, the optimal solution for reviving the agrifood sector is for the Moldovan authorities to join efforts with the domestic exporters and producers. At the same time, they need to optimize the structure of agricultural entities, to improve mechanization levels at these entities, to extend irrigated areas, to expand the range of cultivated crops, to liberalize imports of agricultural inputs, to ease the access to agricultural subsidies, etc. The diagnostic study “The Export Potential of the Agrifood Sector” was elaborated by IDIS Viitorul and commissioned by the Coalition Rural Economic Development, as part of the project “Advocacy Campaign for Supporting Moldovan exporters of agricultural products”, financed by the Soros Foundation Moldova and SIDA.