Important quantities of corn remain in the fields at the end of December. Owing to high humidity, the producers couldn’t harvest the corn. According to the Association “Agrocereals”, about 20% of the sowed corn hasn’t been gathered.
Igor Grigoriev, president of “Agrocereale”, Moldova’s largest association of grain exporters, has told IPN that humidity in the fields exceeds 18-20%, but the level appropriate for harvesting is 15-16%. If the corn is gathered when humidity is high, it should be taken to grain drying facilities, but these are not many in number in Moldova, are 30 to 50 years old and can process low quantities.
This year, the crop harvest in Moldova totals 2.5 million tonnes, which is a record high. New types were sowed this year, with a yield of 14-15 tonnes per hectare. This is two-three times more than in the case of the traditional types, stated Igor Grigoriev.
60-70% of the harvested corn will be exported. The rest is enough to satisfy the internal needs. The Moldovan corn is exported to 30 states, including the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Malaysia, Egypt, China, and Italy. The largest quantity of corn so far was exported to Turkey.