An eventual ban on the export of fruit to Ukraine will seriously affect the producers and exporters of fruit and vegetables as Ukraine became a popular market, primarily for particular sorts of fruit, and another such market cannot be found quickly. If this happens, the Government should come up with compensatory and support measures, Iurie Fală, executive director of “Moldova Fruct” Fruit Producers and Exporters Association, has told IPN.
Iurie Fală noted that the members of the Association he represents are solidary with the concerns expressed by grain producers who said that many small and medium-sized producers are close to bankruptcy, primarily due to the fall in the prices of agricultural raw material the past year, under the pressure of the production from Ukraine. But an eventual ban on fruit exports to Ukraine in response to an eventual ban on the import of Ukrainian grain into Moldova will considerably affect the fruit and vegetable producers.
According to him, 45% of the Moldovan apricots and over 10% of the Moldovan table grapes are exported to Ukraine. If the export of these quantities is banned, many fruit producers will be affected, not to mention the fresh fruit and vegetables that were exported in a large volume last year. Many producers reoriented themselves and started to make jams for Ukraine.
Nicolae Tîltu, head of the planning and projects division of the National Farmers Federation of Moldova, said that a part of the farmers agree that the import of grain from Ukraine should be banned as their production costs are much larger than in Ukraine. But if this is done, other farmers, including those who process or grow products with high value added, especially fruit, and export a part of the vegetables and berries to Ukraine will find themselves in a difficulty situation. “The proposed 100 million lei subsidies is not much as the losses are of almost 2 billion lei. Also, the Government of Romania provided 4,000 tonnes of diesel fuel in support. It is also not much, but is something,” Nicolae Tîltu stated for IPN. He noted that a new meeting of farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Government should be held this Sunday.
Solutions to the problems faced in the agricultural sector were discussed in a meeting of Prime Minister Dorin Recean and Moldovan farmers. According to the Government, the quantities of grain imported from Ukraine will be monitored and the Executive will intervene to manage the situation in favor of the local producers, if the grain imports are large and the amounts cannot be stored in national granaries. The Government will also provide an extra 100 million lei to compensate the farmers for the costs incurred for raw material. For his part, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea said that a program to subsidize the cost of fertilizers will be worked out after the quantities used during sowing works last autumn are determined.
