The walnut growers and exporters last year experienced a tenser situation, due to the war in Ukraine as well. The crop was good, but the demand was insufficient and the prices were rather low. Therefore, the growers had to keep the walnuts in storehouses. This year the situation improved and the demand is higher. The problems and opportunities in the field were discussed in an annual forum, IPN reports.
The head of the Walnut Producers Association of Moldova Oleg Tîrsînă said that a part of the walnut crop obtained last year was mixed with this year’s harvest. “This year the situation has slightly improved. The demand for walnut kernel is much greater. A large number of foreign companies are interested in purchasing walnuts,” stated Oleg Tîrsînă.
The Republic of Moldova dropped in the rankings of walnut exporters. Domestic figures show that the average annual walnut exports total 34,000-35,000 tonnes. The decline is due to the significant reduction in the walnuts collected from individual household and from alignment strips. However, it is estimated that the exports will grow as the areas of walnut orchards have been expanded.
According to Oleg Tîrsînă, a new situation for Moldova is the fact that a quantity of walnuts is now available, but this cannot satisfy foreign demand. Foreign companies ask for particular sorts of walnuts and demand that rather rigorous quality requirements be obeyed. The Moldovan producers not always respect the time limits by which they are requested to prepare the lots for export and this is another problem.
“When the calibration process starts, things get stuck owing to banal aspects and the patience of buyers who set deadlines is this way tried. If you do not meet the deadline, it is a problem. So, you have lots of walnut in the storehouse, but logistical issues are encountered and there are bureaucratic impediments. There is an organizational, discipline problem in packing, preparing, exporting. This way, the exporters are interested in purchasing walnuts, but ask that the preparations for export should be shortened,” explained the head of the Walnut Producers Association.
In this connection, he called on the walnut growers to maximally fluidize the obtaining of documents and the entire process. They should also take into account the fact that the main walnut buyers are Turkey and Albania. As regards walnut kernel, the largest quantities of kernel are purchased by companies based in France and Germany. Among the destinations that can be explored are Austria, the Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland. Exports to these countries have grown significantly.
