Moldova imports tomatoes due to lack of own sorting and packing facility

The top imported agri-food products to Moldova are tomatoes, followed by citruses and potatoes. Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov told Info-Prim Neo that one of the reasons for which the potatoes are imported in such great quantities is Moldova’s lack of its own sorting and packing facility for vegetables. “Tomatoes are ranking first for two reasons. First, starting with November till April Moldova’s deem it unprofitable to grow tomatoes, not even in greenhouses. The second reason is that our country completely lacks sorting and packing services for vegetables. The supermarket managers will not go to the market to buy tomatoes in sacks. The prefer to import them from Turkey, readily sorted and packed”, communicated Vasile Bumacov. Even if Moldova is a country that produces and exports potatoes, Moldovans still cannot manage to grow good seed material. “Both last year and this year, Moldova had good yields of potatoes. Potato cultivation is a history of success for us, we even began to export it, but farmers still fail to find seeds good for sowing. Thus, almost all of the potatoes imported are for their seeds”, said Vasile Bumacov. The Minister of Agriculture says that the authorities cannot estimate the exact proportion of fruit and vegetables imported to Moldova, since they have no way of registering everything that is produced locally. “We cannot count that which is registered. Peasants grow rather many vegetables and fruit in their own gardens, for their own consumption; thus, we cannot keep count”, pointed out Vasile Bumacov. Sergiu Tirigan, deputy head of the Ministry’s Marketing and International Relations Division, communicated that, last year, fresh or refrigerated tomatoes were imported at a total of 22,000 tons, 95% of which came from Turkey. The potatoes are mostly imported from EU states, especially from Poland, Romania, and Germany. Citruses are imported to Moldova from over 40 states of the world, however 50% of them come from Turkey, and Greece ranks second in this sector. Bananas, fresh or dried, are mostly imported from Ecuador, Costa Rica and Colombia. Moldova imports apricots, cherries and peaches, mostly from European States. About 70% are imported from Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. Half of the apples, pears, and quinces also come from Greece. Green lettuce and chicory are imported from Italy, Spain, and Netherlands, and carrots and other edible roots are imported from Belarus, Poland, and Turkey. Almost all imported grapes also come from Turkey. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Moldova annually imports agro-alimentary products summing to $650 million on average, and exports at a total of almost $1 billion.