Agriculture Minister Nicolae Ciubuc says he has been in contact with Romanian partners in a bid to place some of last year’s overabundant grape harvest with retailers in the neighboring country. However, the minister says it’s hard to find a quick solution.
An inventory has been made of all grape amounts currently kept in cooler storages, and the discussions held with Romania are among the solutions on the table. “But we should understand that the quality of grapes might be a problem if want them to be marketed as fresh produce”, said the minister.
Discussions will be continued to retail the excess grapes domestically, too, the minister added.
Economist Viorel Chivriga, of the think-tank IDIS, however says that last year’s grape yields could hardly qualify as over-abundant. Rather, producers should anticipate and adjust their cultivation and marketing strategies. “Producers should cultivate grapes that are demanded and competitive on the market. And if issues appear, one should think if it’s worth cultivating (certain varieties) at all”.
Chivriga says, Moldovan grapes sell for the lowest prices abroad, even if they are slightly higher than the prices offered domestically. “In the vine-growing sector, there should be a paradigm shift. While we should continue cultivating wine varieties, our offer of table varieties should be diversified and extended and should include high-quality varieties. At the same time, Moldova doesn’t yet have a culture of consuming table grapes”, admits Chivriga.
