Because of the war in Ukraine, Moldova has a hard time exporting fruits, which affects not only producers, but also a large number of employees, along with their families. This is the opinion of Viorel Chivriga, economist at “IDIS Viitorul”.
“I would very much like to see apples go to export or to the market, at least half of the existing stocks now, but I think that is very difficult to achieve”, he said during an IPN debate titled “The dilemma of Moldovan fruit exports: to the East and/or to the West?”.
Viorel Chivriga said that Moldova should not reckon on exports to the European Union, given the fierce international competition. “We need to understand that these are economic laws. If you are competitive and better than Poland, you will prove it. If you do not have the capacity, you will not enter any other market than the Moldovan one. In addition, there are also certain products that do not have access to the European market”, said Viorel Chivriga.
According to him, the current situation represents an increased risk and raises several questions. The expert pointed out that subsidizing risky economic activities in agriculture is irrational. “I don’t understand how you can subsidize some very risky activities, and I mean in particular the creation of orchards with some varieties that are not going to sell in a stable market. At the same time, we must not forget the costly equipment. Someone has to answer for this”, said the expert.
He explained why increasing the areas for grain cultivation is not a good solution to the crisis in the field of apple production and export: “Grains cannot occupy about 60% of the arable land in Moldova. Our country needs a modern agriculture, and this means the existence of several categories of local products and the implementation of new technologies”.
Speaking about concrete steps in resolving the apple crisis and the measures taken by the government, the expert stated that “the effort must be tripled”. “Although the authorities have been arguing for decades about economic representatives at our embassies, they have not appeared in the spotlight since the beginning of the crisis”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration must also make order in the lists of honorary consuls who need to work with our exporters. In turn, economic operators from other states can help the Republic of Moldova. But, first of all, we have to make order in our country, where the products of Moldovan origin are in proportion of up to almost 40%, the rest are imported products”, mentioned Viorel Chivriga. The expert reiterated that a successful solution in this regard would be the delivery of local produce to kindergartens and schools in Moldova.
The debate was the 234th installment of the “Developing Political Culture” Series, run by IPN with the support of the “Hanns Seidel” Foundation.
