Areas panted with walnuts triple

The areas planted with walnuts in Moldova have tripled over the last year as a result of the increasing price of nutmeat. The Government offers a one-time payment of 10,000 lei to support farmers who choose to plant walnuts. Head of the division for production policies and quality regulations in plant production Mihail Suvac told Info-Prim Neo that 3.1 million lei was offered in subsidies in 2011, and the figure rose to 8 million in 2012. “According to data from the Land Cadaster, there were 10,800 ha planted with walnuts on January 1, last year. 6600 ha were private property, which is 61.6% of the total areas. Agricultural production cooperatives owned 87 ha or 1.3%, joint-ventures had 296 ha or 4.4% and limited liability companies had 2900 ha or 44.6%”, said Mihail Suvac. It is estimated that 100,000 lei is needed to plant a hectare of local varieties of walnut, with a payback period of 11 years. According to data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the walnut plantations would reach 11,600 ha by 2014, said Mihail Suvac. In 2010, the walnut production was 11,580 tonnes, which is 17.8% more than in 2009. The average export price of walnuts was $6.26 per kilogram, which is 36.7% more than in 2009.