The Association of Table Grape Growers and Exporters has worked out and will propose for debates a strategy for developing table grape growing, Info-Prim Neo reports. Igor Vatamaniuc,the Association's executive director, said in an interview that table grape growing is a high value added sector and Moldova has possibilities of developing it. Eleven producers and exporters as well as scientists and representatives of the Government participated in the drafting of the strategy. The document represents a practical guide that centers on the transformation of the present table grape industry into an industry based on a internationally competitive marketing system that can satisfy the demands of the consumers everywhere. “We have worked out many strategies, but they are not implemented because there is no base of producers in the given sector, who will set the tone. We intend to establish a dialogue during several months and form this base of producers and then approve and implement the strategy,” Igor Vatamaniuc said. Among the objectives of the strategy are to identify export markets and the sorts of table grapes that will be cultivated. Presently, the sort “Moldova”occupies 60% of the cultivated fields. It accounts for 73% of the table grape exports. Also, the producers aim to switch over to modern growing technologies used in such countries as Italy, France, Germany and Egypt, to which they paid study visits. “We aim at developing table grape production according to consumer preferences and produce what is in demand on the market, not what we want and what is traditional,” Igor Vatamaniuc said. The Association of Table Grape Growers and Exporters was founded a year ago with the support of the Agribusiness Development Project financed by USAID and implemented by CNFA.