Loans of US$1.7m for post-harvest infrastructure within Compact

Loans to the value of US$1.7 million for the construction and equipment of refrigerators for keeping fruit and vegetables and for other investments in Moldova’s post-harvest infrastructure have been granted so far within the Compact Program, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to a communiqué from the Millennium Challenge Fund (MCF) Moldova, the refrigerators that will be built with the loans provided within the Compact will have a total capacity of over 5 600 tonnes and will be ready by this yearend. They will be constructed in Dubasari, Edinet, Briceni, and Stefan-Voda district. Sergiu Luchita, who is responsible for the lending program within MCF Moldova, said that the main function of the refrigerating storehouses is to keep the agricultural products fresh so that the retail outlets are constantly supplied with agrifood products at more advantageous prices in extra-season. In Moldova, they refrigerate mainly apples and grapes. The loans for making investments in the post-harvest infrastructure were also used to buy equipment for processing fruit and vegetables and units of transport for the processed agricultural products. Under the US$12 million lending program for investments in the post-harvest infrastructure, loans of US$50,000 to US$600,000 will be provided for a period of 3 to 7 years. The loans are intended for agricultural producers and agrifood companies, for supporting investments in the development of the post-harvest infrastructure. The program is managed by the Credit Line Directorate of the Finance Ministry, while the loans are released through seven selected banks. It is a distinct part of the Compact Program signed by the Government of Moldova and the U.S. Government at the start of 2010. It came into force in September 2010. About US$262 million will be invested in 2010-2015 within the Compact implemented by MCF Moldova