Crop of grapes fails expectations as harvest season ends

The harvest season of grapes is almost finished in Moldova and the crop is much lower than the forecasts predicted. The web page www.vinmoldova.md announces that 240 thousand tonnes of grapes were harvested on the industrial plantations. According to the head of the Technological Policy Department of the Agro-industrial Agency “Moldova-Vin”, Valeri Cibotari, about 10-15% is to be still harvested or about 40-60 thousand tonnes. The farmers finished harvesting grapes at 95-99%. The volume of the production constituted 150 thousand tonnes. In 2006, the crop of grapes is lower than expected. The forecasts expected 700 thousand tonnes of grapes. According to experts, the poor results were caused especially by the winter frosts and by the drought of the last two summer months, which affected the south and the central part of the country, were the most vineyards are located. However, the quality of the grapes is much higher compared with last year. This year wine factories did not have the right to purchase grapes without certificates on the quantity and type of pesticides used in grapes cultivation. These certificates must be presented by producers. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 2006 is marked by a decrease of the industrial production. This situation was mainly determined by the embargo imposed by Russia on March 27, 2006. The ban caused losses not only to wine factories, which did not work at their full capacity, but also to producers of packages.