A group of representatives of the Moldovan producers and exporters of vegetables and fruit asked Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov to take immediate steps to counteract the attempts to monopolize exports to Russia, IPN reports, quoting the paper “Panorama”.

The participants in the August 21 meeting told the publication that Bumacov was surprised to hear about the actions of a group of Moldovan and Russian citizens involved in the monopolization of the export of fruit and vegetables to Russia.

“We gave the minister a week to clarify the situation and agreed that all the problems will be solved calmly, in a technical way,” said one of the producers.

The chairman of the Union of Agricultural Producers UniAgroProtect Alexandru Slusari said that if the authorities do not take steps to eliminate the constraints to exports by the middle of next week, they will take drastic measures as the monopolization affects the Moldovan exporters and the production of fruit and vegetables.

According to the newspaper, representatives of Russian customs terminals started to levy illegal taxes from the Moldovan exporters and their Russian importing partners. Illegal payments are also collected by a group of persons on Moldova’s territory. The exporters consider that these actions are taken with the aim of monopolizing the exports of fruit and vegetables to Russia.