A number of MPs of the Bloc ACUM sent a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, the Competition Council and the National Bureau of Statistics whereby they ask for additional information about potato production in Moldova following the latest rises in the prices of this vegetable. The MPs suspect the rises are due to cartel agreements between a narrow group of importers.
The MPs said that as a result of discussions with potatoes producers and sellers, they reached the conclusion that the shortage of potatoes and the rises in potato prices occurred after large quantities of potatoes were imported the previous years and many national farmers gave up cultivating this vegetable. Ultimately, a narrow group of importers reached obscure agreements and abusively increased the prices. “Someone, under the cover of the authorities, try to make superprofit at the expense of the poorest people,” runs the letter.
The ACUM MPs requested the given institutions to provide data about potato consumption in Moldova, the annual production volume and the annually exported and imported volumes of potatoes.
The letter was signed by Alexandru Slusari, Radu Marian, Kiril Moțpan and Maria Ciobanu. According to them, a synchronized, sudden and substantial rise in potato prices was recently witnessed on retail markets. The prices were increased from 7-8 lei to 16-17 lei per kg. The MPs noted the potato prices in Moldova are now by about 60% higher than in Ukraine.
