The plums, apples and apricots in the Republic of Moldova are of a very high quality, said Italian businessman Piero Leone. He expressed his interest in cooperating with Moldovan producers so that Moldovan dried fruits and juices made from Moldova fruit reach Italy. The businessman admitted that as the Russian market was the main market for Moldovan fruit, the European businessmen didn’t know about the high quality of the Moldovan products, IPN reports.
Businessman Piero Leone is interested in Moldovan plums. He purchases dried plums from Moldovan producers and now plans to expand his business.
“It is the second time we came to the Republic of Moldova. We reached agreements with two Moldovan companies. We already signed contracts for the purchase of 500 tonnes of dried plums. We will yet have meetings with representatives of two companies based in southern Moldova from which we aim to buy also fresh plums. We are very satisfied with the quality of products and hope to have fruitful cooperation,” stated Piero Leone.
The businessman expressed his surprise at Russia’s decision to impose a ban on the import of Moldovan products, saying the Moldovan fruit are of a high quality and can be consumed both fresh and processed.
“We cooperate with Turkey and with Chile. As long as Moldova exported to the Eastern markets, we were unable to cooperate with producers from here. After we familiarized ourselves with the market here, we discovered a very high quality of products, compared with those of other producers with which we cooperate in the Mediterranean Sea Basin. The plum skin is thin and the plums are softer and tastier when they are dried. We will not stop at plums yet. We are very interested in apples and apricots and not only dried ones. We want to establish cooperation relations so as to also produce juices,” stated the businessman.
He has cooperated with Moldovan producers for a period and says that he is delighted at the way in which the Moldovans grow their products. Piero Leone noted the Moldovan farmers know the European quality standards and tend to reach them.
“The level of wellbeing is reduced here but the people live with dignity. The producers know well their job. The Moldovan businessmen are skillful and know the prices and the quality requirements. They do not offer much lower prices so as to only sell their products. They value their work and know the quality of their products. We can have rather productive negotiations with them,” stated Piero Leone.
