Horticultural producers participating in the "Livada Moldovei"/”Moldova’s Orchard” Program will be able to access loans under preferential conditions in other two banks, in addition to the five banks involved in the program. Victoriabank and Moldova Agroindbank were accepted by a decision of the Ministry of Finance and the Directorate for the credit line of the European Investment Bank, IPN reports.
At a press conference, the Minister of Agriculture, Regional Development and the Environment, Ion Perju, stated that through the respective banks horticultural producers would be able to benefit from the credit line of the European Investment Bank. It is a credit line of 120 million euros. “These loans truly boost the horticultural sector. There are products with high added value, on which agriculture should be focused. We need to export high value-added products and not raw materials, as we do today,” the minister said.
Iurie Brumărel, executive director of the Consolidated Unit for the Implementation and Monitoring of the Restructuring Program of the Wine Sector, specified that the interest rate on the credits contracted under the program constitutes 2.8-4.5% for credits in euro and 7-8% for those in lei. In addition to the two banks, loans can also be taken from Energbank, Mobiasbanca, ProCreditBank, Comerțbank and Banca Comerciala Română.
Persons working in the horticultural sector, orchard and vegetable growers, people involved in floriculture and in rural tourism, may apply. The facilities offered by the Government under the program are: zero VAT rate, exemption from import duties and customs duties of all goods imported from abroad or services and goods purchased on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
"We estimate that these trading partners will contribute directly to the implementation of the" Livada Moldovei "Program. And if we are now coming close to 100 investment projects and 25 million euros already invested in the horticultural sector, we plan in the next years, until the end of the project, to have financed 500 investment projects and invested 120 million euros in this sector”, said Iurie Brumărel.
The credit line became operational in 2016 and is valid for a period of five years.
