The countries that import the largest volumes of Moldovan wine do not question its quality and have confidence in the certificates issued by the Moldovan certification bodies. Only Russia subjects the products to a second check, Rodica Sturza, director of the National Center for Verification of Quality of Alcoholic Products of Moldova, has told IPN.
Rodica Sturza could not explain how the Russian inspection body found exaggerated quantities of noxious substances in wines that were certified in Moldova. She admitted that any examined sample can contain a margin of error, but the differences cannot be so marked.
She also said that Estonia and Belarus also have repeated examination bodies, but they never complained about the quality of the Moldovan wine.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the main countries to which Moldova exports wine products are: Russia, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, China, the U.S., Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Romania. The official data show that Moldova exports 28% of the wine and 22% of the brandy to Russia.
On September 10, Russia banned the imports of Moldovan wine, arguing it is of a poor quality.
