Dozens of hectares of orchards were compromised by the recent heavy rains and hail. In some of the districts, the cherry orchards were 80% affected and the farmers can no longer sell the fruits, including to export them. Processors are not in a hurry to buy them either, even at very low prices. The situation in agriculture in the wake of the bad weather was discussed at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry with the heads of district agricultural divisions, IPN reports.
The head of the Criuleni Agriculture Division Vitalie Onishchuk said that 68 hectares of cherry orchards were 75%-80% affected. “The cherries are of a high quality – 3-4 cm in diameter. The farmers cannot sell the cherries as they are cracked and full of water. It can no longer be exported. The processing plants do not take them as they have reserves since last year and are not interested in raw materials. There are orchards that have never been harvested. The situation is alarming,” said Vitalie Onishchuk.
In Edinet, 30.5 hectares of apple trees and 3 hectares of cherries of a peasant household were damaged by the hail. “The apple orchards were 85-90% affected. The fruits were not downed, but they were damaged by the hail and have scars. I don’t think they can be exported and they can only be processed. The cherry trees were affected in a proportion of 75%. The damage caused to this peasant household was assessed at 15.2 million lei,” said Alexandru Jitaru, interim head of the Edinet Agriculture Department.
“In the case of cherry orchards, we experience the same problems as in other districts following the heavy rains. In the second decade of June alone, 74 millimeters of rain fell and, obviously, the cherries cracked. But we came to terms with the wine factory in Falesti, which agreed to help us and the economic agents. She will process the cherries that will be brought to the factory. The price is low, but it is a way out of the situation,” said the head of the Falesti Agriculture and Food Division Valeriu Motelica.
The head of the Causeni Agriculture Division Pavel Curus said that in Săiți, an economic agent had about 40 hectares of apple orchards affected by the rain. Also, 12 hectares of cherry orchards were compromised. In Grigorievca, cherries in the orchards filled with water and cracked. One of the economic agents picked only a few crates from three rows of cherry trees, although the orchard is a high-performance and productive one. They sought help from a juice company, but this doesn’t process the cherries and, under these conditions, the farmer is simply forced to throw away the fruits.
Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, said that a meeting will be held at the Ministry with representatives of the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Processors of Moldova “Speranța-CON”. During the discussions, ways and possibilities to get involved in the processing of fruits damaged by the heavy rainfall will be considered.
