The packing house in Costesti became functional owing to the support provided by the United States Agency for International Development and Romania’s Development Cooperation Program (RoAid) and to the contributions made by local producers who founded the cooperative FructBioImpex. In the launch on December 3, those attending visited the packing house where cold storage facilities and grape sorting and packing lines were recently installed and put into operation, IPN reports.

Romania’s Ambassador in Chisinau Marius Lazurca said that this project continues to enhance the competitiveness of the Moldovan farmers so that their access to the EU market is faster and sustainable. “Romania is ready to continue offering the Moldovan authorities assistance in doing the reforms needed to implement the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU,” he stated.

For his part, U.S. Ambassador to Moldova James D. Pettit said the completion of the construction of the packing house in Costesti, together with other activities carried out by the Agricultural Competiveness and Enterprise Development Project (ACED), show the United States’ commitment to help Moldova become a fully democratic, independent and prosperous European state.

The packing house in Costesti has two grape packing lines with the capacity of six tonnes an hour and cold storage facilities with the capacity of 1,500 tonnes. The house will be managed by FructBioImpex, while the Costesti mayor’s office is its beneficiary.