The grape harvest in Moldova this year will be by 15% higher than last year and will constitute 6-9 tonnes of grapes per hectare. However, the harvest will be by over 20% lower than the average for the last five years owing to the severe drought of 2020, late frosts of this spring and the heavy rain. Aspects of the global grape production this year were discussed in a meeting of the council in charge of grapes, wine and related products, IPN reports, quoting the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to specialists, the harvesting of grapes for wine starts in the middle of September. The supply of grapes for wine this year is expected to be of over 200,000 tonnes, according to the data of district agricultural divisions. About 160,000 tonnes of grapes were processed in 2020.
The National Office of Vine and Wine said last year’s grape harvest was the most modest one in the last ten years. The crop is lower due to the weather conditions of the past two-three years.
The producers said the costs associated with the cultivation of vine in 2021 increased as a result of additional works to chemically treat vines for illnesses and pests, other works and the rise in the prices of fuel, pesticides and fertilizers. Therefore, the purchase price of grapes will be at least at the level of cost price. To stimulate the obtaining of raw material of a high quality, the purchase prices will be differentiated depending on the type and quality of grapes.
The council members also said that the traders of agricultural inputs (tractors, fuel, pesticides, fertilizers) have unjustifiably increased the prices of products and this generates a noncompetitive cost price of Moldovan grapes and wine products.
The Moldovan wine products are exported to 63 countries, primary to Romania, Russia, Poland, Belarus, China, Georgia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Germany, and Kazakhstan.
