The European Political Community Summit opened up discussion opportunities, including as regards the access to the markets of the European community, but the authorities and producers of Moldova should realize that any country that respects its citizens will not allow Moldovan products to enter their markets if they are not sure of the quality and inoffensiveness of these, the head of the Association of Grape Producers and Exporters Gheorghe Gaberi said in a public debate staged by IPN News Agency.

He noted that the political developments on the platform of the EPC Summit are good, but urgent action needs to be taken to adjust Moldova’s normative framework and to open markets as no market is free, especially for agrifood products that have a direct impact on human health.

According to Gheorghe Gaberi, Russia’s war in Ukraine created serious difficulties in accessing markets not only in the EU and Russia, but also in countries of Middle Asia to which we now have access only through Romania, which is an EU member state. The export of products that cannot be sold to the EU was fully blocked. Many products like meat products and saplings cannot be exported to Azerbaijan or Uzbekistan with which Moldova has economic relations.

Asked if Moldova has high-value agriculture and can compete with counties of the European community, Gheorghe Faberi said that enormous steps in this direction have been taken the last few years, but many of the problems remain unsolved. “There were implemented hundreds of projects that borrowed the experience of the most developed states, including of the EU. In all the sectors of agriculture, we have projects, have farms that produce and use modern technologies and this is seen by the results on a number of positions. By the export of walnut kernel, we are among the top three-four countries, by the export of sour cherries – among the top 10 countries, while by the export of grapes – among the top 15 countries. We are a small country, but the results point to the level of technologization,” he said, noting that a goal earlier was to produce 1 million tonnes of fruit on an area of over 300,000 ha of orchards and this goal was now achieved, but on a much smaller area of orchards based on modern technologies.

The head of the Association of Grape Producers and Exporters also said that the task now is to multiply these projects so as to prepare the Moldovan farmers to use last-generation technology so as to ensure a higher quality and yield.

The public debate entitled “EPC Summit – opportunities opened up for high-value agriculture and export of Moldovan products” was the eighth installment of IPN’s project “Support for European Integration by stimulating discussion in the mass media about the European Political Community (EPC) Summit” that is supported by Soros Foundation Moldova.