State pays for wheat less than market

The price at which the state buys wheat for the state reserve will vary from 3 to 3.5 lei/kg this year, depending on its quality. The state reserve needs to store up to 70,000 tonnes of wheat, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Agriculture Minister, Anatolie Gorodenco, told a relevant state commission on July 9 that the farmers will be able to sell wheat to the Government, only if the cereals contain over 18% of gluten. In 2007, the wheat stored in the state reserve was bought at 3-3.2 lei/kg. The Minister says the acquisition price has been calculated depending on the prices on the internal and external markets. Some members of the mentioned commission say the wheat with 18-20% of gluten should be bought at 3,400 lei/tonne at least. They argue the procurement price should not be less than on commodity markets. Yet, the proposal was not backed. It takes 600-1,000 lei to harvest a ha of cereals. The president of the Farmers Federation, Vasile Marzenco, advises the farmers not to get rid of their wheat too fast at smaller prices. “A serious food crisis is looming. Later the wheat will cost much more,” Vasile Marzenco says. Grains and legumes on 16% of the seeded areas have been harvested up to now. Moldova hopes to get some 1.4 million tonnes of grains this year. According to the Agriculture Ministry, Moldova's cereal harvest in 2007 was 627,500 tonnes, by 46.7% less than planned.