About 120,000 tonnes of apples are currently kept in cold storage facilities in the Republic of Moldova, according to the Association of Fruit Exporters and Producers “Moldova Fruct”. It is important to identify markets to sell these apples as soon as possible. Moldovan apples have been exported to Romania for a period.

In a news conference, Minister of Agriculture Viorel Gherciu said there were held meetings with representatives of Romanian shop chains and these confirmed that the first trucks with Moldovan apples reached them. Negotiations are now held to extend the exported varieties of apples. Initially, they wanted yellow types, but now are ready to also buy red types of apples, IPN reports.

Next week, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu will go to Egypt to discuss the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with his counterpart. The agreement envisions also the export of apples to this market, stated Viorel Gherciu.

He noted that the Indian market is open to Moldovan apples, but the existing supplies cannot be sold immediately as the quantities need to be agreed beforehand. The official said he will have a meeting with China’s Ambassador to Moldova with whom he will also discuss the diversification of agrifood products exported to the Chinese market.

In another development, Viorel Gherciu said he discussed with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of Romania for ensuring a green corridor for transporting highly perishable foods and agrifood products. He expressed his confidence that railway export, which is chapter than road export, in the near future will be possible not only via Galați, but also via Ungheni. They are also considering freight export by river, which is the most profitable one in terms of costs.