Vice president of UniAgroProtect: It’s not worth counting on our market, which is small and poor

The refunding of the VAT, liberalization of exports and lending to the agricultural sector are the major demands of the Moldovan farmers, the vice president of the National Union of Agricultural Producers Associations (UniAgroProtect) Alexandru Slusari told IDIS “Viitorul” in an interview, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. “Half of the agricultural production is sold at prices lower than the production cost. For example, the production cost of a kilogram of wheat caries from 1.5 to 2 lei. The best price offered for the wheat transported to the elevator is now 1.30 to 1.65 lei,” Alexandru Slusari said, adding that under such conditions the state should provide subsidies and the barriers to foreign trade should be removed. Asked what emergency measures the new government should take, Alexandru Slusari said that the farmers want the state to fulfill at least its obligations. He referred to the improvement of the competitiveness of the agricultural products, the rise in exports and their liberalization. “On a longer term, the legislation on foreign trade should be reviewed. It is important to avoid such unofficial problems as telephonic orders and verbal indications to stop the export of wheat, grapes, etc. In times of crisis, exports should be increased. It is time we lay emphasis on exports as it is not worth counting on our market, which is small and poor,” Slusari said. The vice president of UniAgroProtect also said that the loans are another problem. “The norm of obligatory reserves for banks decreased, the refinance rate was reduced to 7%, but the interest on loans increased to 25%. Most of the farmers take out short-term loans. That’s why this problem is so painful. The farmers say the rise in the price of diesel oil makes them even poorer. “The formation of prices on the oil market is not transparent. When the prices are to be raised, they say that we are an integral part of the world economy where the prices go up. When the prices are to fall, we are not a part of the world economy anymore and the prices in our country do not decrease owing to internal particularities. In addition, 40 – 50% of the agricultural works are carried out in autumn. We cannot include this leu in the price as the prices of the agricultural products are formed differently. Consequently, the profitability and farmers’ incomes decrease,” Slusari said. The expert considers that the improvement of the investment climate depends on state subsidies, bank loans and investments. A solution would be to sell the agricultural land to non-residents. “This implies risks like speculations in land. But if we weigh the risks and the benefits, the balance will incline to the benefits – the price of land will grow, there will appear investments, the infrastructure will develop. Most of the buyers will come after the benefits with investments, machinery, knowledge, not for speculating,” The interview was published in the business journal “Monitorul de Business” issued by the Institute for Development and Social Initiative (IDIS) “Viitorul”.