Moldova is a perfect place to invest in the industry of aromatic plants, stated Agriculture Minister Vasile Bumacov at a meeting with a delegation of the French Association of Essential Oil Producers.
The minister argued that our country has a tradition of growing such plants and this will reduce the training costs of the investment projects.
In 1986, Moldova was producing some 168 tonnes of essential oils. There are still producers in our country exporting such products, but the amounts are way below the potential. “I would not venture to guess when the Moldovan perfumes will be able to compete with the French ones, but what I can certainly say is that the Moldovan producers are able to deliver quality aromatic oils for the French perfume industry”, said Vasile Bumacov.
Deputy Minister Gheorghe Gaberi said “intensive work” is being done to reinvigorate this industry in our country. A program was approved last year to support sage production and processing, and now the Ministry is working to support lavender oil. “The potential presence of French investors in Moldova would also mean new markets for our producers”, said the deputy minister.
On behalf of the Association of Essential Oil Producers, the president of the Cooperative Society of Perfume Plants of Provence, Michel Krausz, said a reason for choosing Moldova as an investment destination is its experience in this industry. Michel Krausz advised the local producers to band together in cooperatives or groups of producers . “This will help you overcome an unpleasant situation, which we also faced 40 years ago, when each separate producer was scratching along, competing with other individual producers on the market and causing prices to plummet”.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the essential oils produced in Moldova, such as rose, fennel, lavender, sage or coriander oils, are in great demand in the West, being used in the cosmetic industry, medicine and food industry. Moldova closes the top 10 list of world producers of lavender oil, with Bulgaria, France and China being the leaders.
