The Moldovan authorities must request increasing the quantities of Moldovan fruit that will be exported to the EU market after the creation of the Free Trade Area. Expert of the German Economic Team (GET) Moldova Jörg Radeke said that until the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU, the authorities can negotiate export quotas on fruit, especially in the context of the regional situation. The expert made such statements in a briefing held by GET Moldova in concert with experts of the Independent Analytical Center “Expert-Grup”, IPN report.
The economist said the fruit exports will be in danger if Russia decides to break up the commercial relations with Moldova after the ratification of the Association Agreement with the EU. 90% of the Moldovan fruit is now exported to Russia. The quantities of fruit that will be exported to the EU after the Free Trade Area is created do not cover the volumes that are absorbed now by Russia.
Currently, the Moldovan fruit producers export small quantities to the EU owing to the tariff and non-tariff barriers. The non-tariff barriers can be easily overcome. The large Moldovan producers already announced that they are implementing the mechanisms needed to meet the European standards. As regards the tariffs, an apple producer that now wants to export to the EU is forced to sell the apples at a fixed price that cannot be diminished - €56 per 100 kg of apples. In the EU the apples are much cheaper. Thus, the Moldovan producers are not motivated to export to the EU, but these requirements will disappear when the Free Trade Agreement comes into force.
Jörg Radeke considers that Moldova and the EU can review the export quotas on fruit as when the accord was negotiated, the political conjuncture was different. The export quota on grapes should be increased from 5,000 to 20,000 tonnes, while on apples – from 20,000 to 100,000 tonnes. The economist drew a parallel with the Russian ban on the imports of Moldovan wine, reminding that the EU abolished the quotas on Moldovan wine in order to support the country in a crisis situation and the same can be done in the case of the Moldovan fruit.
