Agriculture is one of the most unattractive Moldovan sectors for foreign investors. Only 1% of the foreign direct investment (FDI) goes to this sector. In a news conference at IPN, leader of GET Moldova Ricardo Giucci, managing director at Berlin Economics, said the foreign investors avoid investing in agriculture because this sector requires larger investments than other areas and because of the impossibility of purchasing land in Moldova.
“To invest in agriculture, one should invest a lot to improve the quality of soil and not only. Also, as we understand, it is now not possible for foreign investors to purchase land in the Republic of Moldova. One way or another, they can rent land, but cannot buy it. The majority would argue that it is not their land and they cannot invest as they will lose what they invest when the contract ends,” said the expert.
Ricardo Giucci noted that to have success in the agricultural sector, one needs a lot of resources, such as pesticides, seeds and planting material. As studies show, all these resources are very expensive in the Republic of Moldova. Customs duties on the import of planting material are also high.
The German Economic Team Moldova made an analysis of the impact of FDI on Moldovan economy based on data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Bank of Moldova. The analysis was presented on November 14.
The energy sector attracts one third of FDI. The financial and production sectors also hold interest for investors. Agriculture is at the other opposite pole with only 1% of FDI.
