About 1,300 tonnes of tobacco leaves are projected to be gathered in Moldova this year, as opposed to 2,000 tonnes last year. Interviewed by IPN, the leader of the Association of Tobacco Processors Serafim Terenti said the sector continues to witness downward trends.
“I know that in 1984-1986, Moldova produced 120,000 tonnes of tobacco. The local tobacco processing complex worked only with raw material. I don’t know how this complex works now,” said Serafim Terenti. He noted that in the 1980s, they cultivated tobacco on about 60,000 hectares of land in Moldova. Now this figure stands at about 1,000 hectares. The production is exported almost fully.
According to Serafim Terenti, a tonne of tobacco of medium quality is sold for over 25,000 lei. Unlike other sectors of agriculture, which are encouraged by governmental programs one way or another, the tobacco growing sector does not benefit from support and this is a reason why they produce less tobacco in Moldova. But the major cause is the shortage of labor force.
