The war in Ukraine and the global energy crisis are the main factors that led to a substantial increase in prices in Moldova, said Minister of Economy Sergiu Gaibu. According to him, imports from the three countries that are directly or indirectly involved in the war (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus) are not so large to cause a shortage of products in Moldova, IPN reports.
Given the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities banned exports of wheat, sugar, salt and meat. The minister noted the halt in food imports from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus does not significantly influence the Moldovan market as the given imports can be substituted with goods from the EU.
“The first category of products imported from these three states is the cigars with a value of US$31 million. They represent 78% of all the imports. Water is the next largest import from these countries, which is followed by pastry and biscuits and fresh and frozen meat, primarily poultry. 50% of these imports came from Ukraine. But we can develop the national potential here. We already asked farmers to increase poultry production so as to satisfy internal demand,” Sergiu Gaibu stated in the talk show “Freedom” on TV8 channel.
The official admitted that the price rises in Moldova are worrisome, but said the phenomenon is global. The National Bank, the Competition Council and the National Agency for Energy Regulation take steps to keep the prices under control.
“The prices started to increase in the middle of last year due to the higher logistical costs, like the price of containers, which grew from US$2,000-3,000 to US$15,000. The energy resources gave a major blow to the national economy. This conflict in the region acted as a new catalyst for the price rises. The prices of all the products increase, either we bring them from the European Union or from Russia,” stated Sergiu Gaibu.
According to official reports, Moldova’s exports to Ukraine represented 3%, to Belarus - about 3%, while to Russia – 8.8%. Moldova’s imports from Belarus constituted about 2%, from Ukraine – approximately 9.3%, while from Russia - 14%.
