Export of Moldovan kernel has declined

Many Moldovan producers and exporters of kernel witness serious decreases in sales abroad and this can endanger their further activity. “We export about 1,300 tonnes of kernel a year. During the 2008-2009 season, we exported by 300 tonnes fewer,” the director of a kernel producing, processing and exporting company Tudor Slanina has told Info-Prim Neo. According to another exporter Dumitru Vicol, one of the greatest challenges this year is the decrease of about 20-40% in prices, a kilogram of kernel being sold for about 3-4 euros. According to Vicol, a number of producers stopped work owing to the low incomes, while those that continue work might encounter difficulties in purchasing, processing and selling the next crop. The legislation also places obstacles as it imposes additional taxes on the kernel exporters. The exchange rate of the leu also affects them. “Owing to the modification of the exchange rate of the leu against the euro, during 2006-2007 we sustained huge losses of over 300,000 euros,” Dumitru Vicol said. According to the exporters, the export of kernel started to stagnate in 2002. So far, Moldova exported by 8,000 tonnes a year on average. The supply of planting material is poor. Not many new walnut tree orchards are set up, while the existing ones are old and are not adequately looked after. According to the consultant of the USAID-funded Agribusiness Development Project Oleg Branza, a large part of the kernel comes from the people"s orchards, not from commercial orchards. As a result, the quality of the kernel is poorer. Most of the countries that produce kernel use modern technology, but in Moldova the kernel is produced and processed manually, which is costly. The quality of the Moldovan kernel is poorer than of those produced in the U.S., Mexico and China and cost less. “Moldova is an insignificant, but visible player. Certainly, we cannot compare with the large kernel producers, but we should develop depending on the challenges and constraints facing us today,” Oleg Branza stated for IPN. One third of the Moldovan kernel goes to France, Greece and Turkey. The walnut tree orchards in Moldova occupy 8,000 hectares, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.