More than 13,000 tons of Moldovan apples from the 2021 harvest were exported to markets other than the Russian Federation, such as the European Union, Central Asia, the Persian Gulf and North Africa. More than 2,000 tons have already been exported over long distances in sea containers. For the first time, apples produced in Moldova were exported to Germany, Kuwait, Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan.
According to the Association of Fruit Producers and Exporters, the need to diversify the apple market has been on the agenda of Moldovan horticulturists for more than a decade, but it became an acute problem when the war in Ukraine began. Testing of new options for marketing fresh apples was initiated in 2017 by the Moldova Fruit Association, with the support of the USAID Performance Agriculture in Moldova (APM) project. Thus, if the Moldovan apples from the 2020 harvest were exported to 9 countries, those harvested in 2021 have already been exported to 25 countries.
Efforts to diversify export markets have included the organization of multiple trade missions of foreign importers to Moldova, as well as Moldovan producers in the Middle East, the participation of fruit growers in international exhibitions and B2B events. These activities have enabled Moldovan fruit growers to understand the requirements of EU and Middle Eastern apple consumers and to adjust their production process to meet those requirements.
According to the Moldova Fruit Association, in order for Moldovan fruits to reach new markets such as those in the EU or the Middle East, Moldovan producers must renew their spectrum of apple varieties produced according to market demand. In this regard, it is important that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and the relevant authorities facilitate the testing and registration of new varieties in the Catalog of Plant Varieties. Producers must also implement international standards that confirm the application of good agricultural practices and product safety, such as GLOBALG.A.P., GRASP, SMETA. Last but not least, it is imminent to manage the level of fruit residues to meet the requirements of international markets, which often have stricter requirements than those in the Russian Federation.
Statistics show that the Republic of Moldova exports 64% of the volume of agricultural products on the EU market, but in the case of apples there is a major dependence on the market of the Russian Federation: 97% of the total export of apples of 240 thousand tons. In the current marketing season of the 2021 harvest (August 2021 – March 2022), Russia’s share has dropped to 90% and will continue to decline amid the war in Ukraine and international sanctions on Russia. Currently, it is estimated that about 100 thousand tons of apples are in storage in Moldova. (Moldpres/Business World Magazine)
