As many as 46 small entrepreneurs from different regions of Moldova came to the fair staged in Râșcani district of Chisinau to promote national products last weekend. The smell of pressed cheese, honey, dried fruits and wine spread broadly and attracted visitors. Producers told IPN that they do not have many trading places and such fairs help them to sell their merchandise. The crises, drought and higher prices made them to slightly increase the prices of the exhibited products.
Ina Macovei, an entrepreneur from Edineț, during eight years has grown raspberry and managed to transform her hobby into a family business. The woman has a raspberry field and produces different kinds of liquors and jam from this fruit. “From raspberry, we make alcoholic drinks, jam. We have fresh raspberry with sugar and dehydrated raspberry. We faced difficulties in selling the raw material this year as there was no concrete market for fresh raspberry. But the harvest was also lower owing to drought and this was two weeks late,” stated the producer.
Victoria Poberejnyuk makes suluguni brine cheese in Bardar village of Ialoveni district. At the fair, she exhibited sulugumi braid smoked cheese, sulugumi sticks and also fresh cow’s milk cheese. The producer said those who want to purchase such type of cheese should draw attention to the period of validity of the products. If the cheese is vacuum packed, it can be kept for two months. If it is not packed, it can be kept for at most five days. The cheese must have a sour, moderately salty flavor.
The woman noted that she came to the fair for the first time. She cooperates with stores and restaurants to which she usually sells her products. The whipped cream cheese is used to make pizza. The natural butter also sells well. “The prices grow and, respectively, the producers have to increase the prices of goods. Compared with last year, the prices were increased but insignificantly. The smoked braid cheese is now the most expensive one,” stated Victoria Poberejnyuk.
Domnica Căpățină from the southern village of Slobozia Mare of Cahul district has produced kavarma and ewe’s milk cheese together with her husband for over 15 years. According to the woman, kavarma is a natural product typical of southern Moldova. It is made from boiled mutton seasoned with chili pepper. It is kept for a month as it is boiled in tallow and is also kept in tallow as it is preserved better this way. The selling of goods is now the biggest problem. “We have to come to Chisinau to sell the products. On the local market, we cannot sell such a large quantity. Many locals went abroad, while others do not have money. We must cover the costs somehow,” stated the producer.
To promote his products, Mihai Măciucă, an established winemaker with over 40 years’ experience, every weekend comes to Chisinau from Cricova town where he runs a business. The entrepreneur sells wine made according to national technologies from national and European types of grapes. All the wines are made from exclusive types gathered late. He produces small quantities, by 1,000 to 3,000 bottles of each type of grapes. He makes and sells the wine himself and makes considerable effort in this regard, but can this way ensure quality throughout the production cycle. “We work during the week and on Saturday and Sunday come to the capital city to sell the goods. These fairs help us to promote our products. The people started to know me,” noted the man.
The honey products exhibited at the fair include honey made from honeydew and flowers that is produced during dry periods, polyfloral honey typical of August, linden honey, May and sage honey as well as honey supplemented with cacao, cloves, ginger etc. Owing to drought, willow honey wasn’t produced and some of the buyers who came especially after this were disappointed.
According to the manager of the fair Ina Castraveț, all the entrepreneurs selling at the fair have official documents of limited liability companies or peasant farmsteads. Those who sell handmade goods have a patent, while those who sell food products have a specific document issued by the National Food Safety Agency.
Fairs with national products staged by the Chisinau City Hall were also held in other districts of the city on other weekends. Botanica district hosted the Fair of Small Entrepreneurs, while Centru district – fairs of fruit and vegetables cultivated by national producers. The fair “EcoLocal” with organic food and nonfood products was mounted in Buiucani. A secondhand goods fair was available on Tiraspol St near the Train Terminal.
