President Maia Sandu suspects the motive behind Russia’s ban on Moldovan fruit exports could be political rather than economic. If this is true, she says, the Government should do more to find new markets.
“It is in our interest that our products meet the standards, especially since our exports go to much more rigorous markets as well: the European market is more rigorous than the Russian one. And if a technical problem arises, we want to be sure that it is technical and then we solve it. But when on the list of areas that are barred from exporting to Russia we don’t see areas where problems were previously detected, then we ask ourselves if it is an economic problem or rather a political one”, Maia Sandu said in an interview with NordNews.
Two days ago, Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Bolea met with the Russian ambassador to discuss the ban. It was proposed that the Russians inspect Moldovan warehouses and collect data to avoid any suspicions.
“The Ministry of Agriculture, the Government must insist on the search for new markets. There are plans for this, I hope they move very quickly. If the Russian Federation has arguments, we want to hear them, come and check here on the spot”, the Moldovan president added.
On August 11, the Moldovan Ministry of Agriculture was notified by the Russian authorities that fruit exports originating from most of Moldova are temporarily forbidden due to pest infestation. The Transnistrian region has been excepted from this.
