The price of Moldovan walnut kernel this year on the European market will fall by €1 on average owing to its lower quality. Producers say the walnut kernel crop in 2011 is high but of a poorer quality owing to the weather conditions and the human factor. Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry consider the solution is to reduce the human factor and invest in walnut processing lines, Info-Prim Neo reports. Alexandru Jolondkovski, chairman of the Walnut Growers’ Association, has told the Agency that it is the walnut market that actually dictates the price. According to him, a kilogram of walnut kernel costs €8 on average, but this year it will be about €7. “This year the walnut kernel is darker in color. It is because of the drought, acid rain and other climactic factors, but also because the gathering and keeping technologies are not respected,” he said. The producers start to gather the walnuts earlier. “The walnuts begin to be collected in August. The trees are being shaken and the walnuts are being kept and shelled in unfavorable conditions. The shell must fall off by itself. This is the main indication that the nut is ripe. This problem exists because nobody regulates this activity. A large part of the walnut kernel comes from trees growing by the roadside. There are about 180,000 such trees and they are not protected,” said Alexandru Jolondkovski. Tudor Slanina, director of SA “Prometeu T”, one of the largest exporters of Moldovan walnut kernel, said the European market dictates the price as most of the Moldovan products are exported to Europe. “This year, the quality of the walnut kernel is lower and the harvest is larger. The rain in the fist half of the year and different diseases affected the nut,” said the director. According to the head of the Agriculture Ministry’s Market Policy Division Mihail Suvac, the poor quality of the kernel is mainly due to the fact that the walnuts are collected earlier. He said that every producer or exporter should implement appropriate technologies. “If we had industrial plantations, we would install shelling, washing, whitening and other types of lines,” stated Mihail Suvac. He also said that some of the producers that only start such businesses have walnut processing lines, but the others do not apply technologies and thus the quality of the kernel is poor. A kilogram of walnut kernel in Moldova now costs 60 lei, by 10-20 lei less than a year before. The collection of walnut kernel from producers starts at the end of November or the start of December. The kernel is exported mainly to France, the Arab countries, Greece, and Austria. Last year there were exported 12,000 tonnes of walnut kernel.