Moldova to gather smallest harvest of grapes in last ten years

05.10.2020 11:40
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The grape harvest this year will be the smallest one in the last ten years, being estimated at 150,000-200,000 tonnes. The data provided by winemakers show the supplies of wineries remained at the level of last year – about 18 million decaliters. This quantity is enough to satisfy the demand on local and international markets.

In a response to an inquiry made by IPN, the National Office of Vine and Wine says the grape harvest was affected by the weather conditions of the last two-three years.

In the winemaking industry, despite the pandemic, the level of exports is satisfactory even if the global wine market faces a decline of about 15-30%. During the first seven months of this year, wine exports decreased in volume by about 5.5 million liters (6.5%) and in value by approximately 87 million lei (6.8%). The bottled wine market grew by 5% in volume and by 0.2% in value. The non-bottled wine market has been more seriously affected, declining by 11% in volume and by 16% in value.

Specialists of the National Office of Vine and Wine carried out an analysis of the maturation of grapes in 2018-2020. The results concerning the content of sugar during the three years on the same date are as follows: the content of sugar in 2018 was very big, whereas in 2019 and 2020 it is much lower. The level of acidity during the last few years declined, while the content of sugar increased. These indicators are the result of extreme hydric stress that is witnessed in most of the vineyards of the country.

The analyses also showed that this year the grapes are by 30 - 50% smaller in size. As a result of this year’s severe drought, spring frosts and low temperatures, the grape harvest in 2020 will be by 20% to 80% lower than in 2019.

The harvest diminution levels will be different and will depend on the geographical and orographic location of vineyards, soil moisture, mechanic structure of soil, soil maintenance system, fertilization, etc. The decline in harvest will be greater in the southern districts, where the drought was more severe, on vineyards with black sorts of grape and with older vines.