● MONDAY, August 18

Moldovan delegation returns after Chinese campaign 

A Moldovan delegation led by Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov, head of the Agency of Tourism Nicolae Platon and MP Ghenadie Ciobanu visited the People's Republic of China between August 7 and 10, at the invitation of the Chengdu Municipal government, the capital of Sichuan province. The head of the Moldovan-Chinese Joint Company “Eastern Allfriends” Ltd, Mihai Podgurschi, said that the importance and results of the visit can be appreciated by considering the special status of the host: the Chengdu Municipality has 16 million inhabitants and Shuangliu autonomous district 1.35 million. Chengdu has the necessary will, interest and infrastructure to boost the development of Moldovan-Chinese relationships.

Air Moldova warned over flight delays 

Transport Minister Vasile Botnari warned the managers of the national airline Air Moldova of the need to implement a set of urgent measures to ensure that its passenger flights are back to normal. The minister convened a meeting Monday morning to discuss the frequent Air Moldova flight delays that have been reported in the last two weeks. “There must not exist situations where flights are delayed for hours, leaving passengers stranded in airports. To redress this, the airline must implement an urgent plan of measures, whose implementation will be strictly supervised”, the Ministry's press service quoted Vasile Botnari as saying.

Moldova to export grains via Prut River 

Facilities have been created near Cislita-Prut, Cahul district, enabling Moldova to soon export grains by barge through the Prut River. Irina Gisca, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport, has told the authorities expect exports via the Prut to reach 300,000 tonnes this year, after orders have already been placed for roughly 200,000 tonnes.

● TUESDAY, August 19

Moldova is 'perfect place to invest in aromatic plants' 

Moldova is a perfect place to invest in the industry of aromatic plants, stated Agriculture Minister Vasile Bumacov at a meeting with a delegation of the French Association of Essential Oil Producers. The minister argued that our country has a tradition of growing such plants and this will reduce the training costs of the investment projects. In 1986, Moldova was producing some 168 tonnes of essential oils. There are still producers in our country exporting such products, but the amounts are way below the potential. “I would not venture to guess when the Moldovan perfumes will be able to compete with the French ones, but what I can certainly say is that the Moldovan producers are able to deliver quality aromatic oils for the French perfume industry”, said Vasile Bumacov.

Joint task group to come up with solutions for organic agriculture 

Central authorities, experts and the business community members will suggest legal amendments to aid the development of organic agriculture in Moldova. The creation of such a task group is a recommendation of the National Study on Organic Agriculture and Greening of Conventional Farming, commissioned by UNDP and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) as part of the Environmental and Fiscal Reform Project in Moldova. Project manager Mihai Roscovan said during the study presentation that many policy initiatives, backed by studies, have been launched to promote organic technologies in Moldova.

● WEDNESDAY, August 20

CET-Nord to undergo significant modernization 

The Government at its meeting on Wednesday is expected to formally initiate negotiations on a financing agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a project to modernize the combined heat and power plant CET-Nord in Balti. The Moldovan negotiation team will be headed by Economy Minister Andrian Candu and will include representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Chancellery.

Rehabilitation starts for Chisinau-Ungheni-Sculeni road 

Beginning today and for the next two years, the road Chisinau-Ungheni-Sculeni on the national route R1 will undergo rehabilitation in a 80 million euro project with financing from the European Investment Bank. Attending the launch of the project, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca highlighted the importance of the route R1 for Moldova's economy. “The Azeri contractor (Evrascon) will create some 400 new jobs, where skilled workers will get competitive salaries. In this way, we have achieved another objective”, said Leanca.

Fiscal Service opens help and tip line 

The State Fiscal Service has opened a help and tip line that people may call, by dialing 0-8000-1525, to submit tips of cases of corruption or conflicts of interest committed by tax agents, to verify excise stamps or report cases of fiscal violations. The service is available daily, except weekends, from 8:00 to 17:00, with lunch breaks from 12:00 to 13:00. The line is toll-free for calls from any fixed or mobile operator in Moldova.

 Farmers advised to 'lose no time' and take fruits to processing factories 

While many processing facilities, in particular those in the north of the country, are operating at under 50% of their capacities, farmers are giving in to the promises of better prices made by “suspect people”, who sow the seeds of protests and criticize the government's compensatory measures. The situation was described at today's Government meeting by Agriculture Minister Vasile Bumacov. “We went to talk to the farmers in the northern districts and provide explanation. We were told that some people had offered to buy the fruits at better prices and take them to the Transnistrian region. We advised them to lose no time and take the fruits to be processed. The factories have money and will buy”, said Bumacov.

● THURSDAY, August 21

Twenty five artisans attend wool-dying workshop 

Twenty five folk artisans from different areas of Moldova are attending a workshop of dying wool with natural colorants under the slogan “Restoring a century-forgotten art”. The workshop takes place on August 21-22 in the Rustic Art Center in Clisova Noua village, Orhei district, with the participation of the Ministry of Culture, the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History and local authorities. Ecaterina Popescu, head of the craftsmanship center Rustic Art, told that such measures are meant to make the old-style weaving of carpets an economic basis for many villages. The workshop gathered weavers, researchers, museographers and officials from the field of culture. “The Bessarabian carpet is renowned throughout the world and connoisseurs are looking for it on the market, but seldom find it”, said Popescu.

● FRIDAY, August 22

Salaries in Moldova up 8.9%

The average gross monthly salary earnings this June were 4,203.9 lei, up by 8.9 % from the similar month last year. The average salary in the budgetary sector was 3,816.1 lei, averaging 4,361.3 lei in the real economy sector, according to the National Statistics Bureau. The largest salaries were in the ITC sector, averaging 8,290.6 lei a month, and the lowest were in agriculture, forestry and fishery, standing at 2,569.1 lei.

● SATURDAY,  August 23

Fast-food chain fined by tax inspectors

The Gustosel fast-food chain caught the attention of the State Principal Fiscal Inspectorate for illegal business. During a verification, the tax inspectors applied several fines, amounting to a total of 16,000 lei, according to the Contravention Code. Seven stoves have been seized as evidence. According to a press release of the State Principal Fiscal Inspectorate, the fast-food chain worked without authorizations from the Chisinau City Hall and had unofficial employees. The inspectors found that the chain hired 15 persons who worked illegally for a long time.

ANRE approves Regulation on switching gas suppliers

The National Energy Regulatory Agency approved the Regulation on switching gas suppliers for end users, enabling them to sign contracts with any supplier, including foreign ones. “The consumer must follow the procedure detailed in the regulation, beginning with the notification of the current supplier, the payment of all debts and penalties before the date of the termination of the contract. After this, a contract may be signed with the new supplier”, said Andrei Sula, who presented the regulation.