Moldovan wines are exported to over 70 countries of the world, and the wine sector has a share of 3% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and 8% of exports. The figures were presented at the Wine Sectoral Conference – EU and Eastern Partnership Cooperation within wine sector: sector’s attractiveness and market opportunities, organized in Chisinau.
The event took place within the “Made in Moldova” exhibition. The president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Sergiu Harea, said that the wine industry was one of the most important sectors of the national economy, which brought Moldova’s fame to over 70 countries, where Moldovan wine products were exported. According to Harea, about 150 thousand people are employed in the wine sector, or about 27% of the rural population.
Attending the event, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vladimir Bolea said that the winemaking branch was one of the most important in the Republic of Moldova, and the development process was advanced, with growth potential.
“The proof is that the sales amounts have increased, as well as the share in the country’s GDP. While in the initial phase we were massively exporting bulk wine at low prices, today the volume of bulk wine exported is decreasing and we are delivering much more bottled wine, which means quality wine. Namely, the quality bottled wine took our fame everywhere. Currently, the wine sector represents 3% of the national GDP and 8% of total exports,” said Vladimir Bolea.
At the same time, the Minister of Agriculture also said that this year it would no longer be allowed to purchase grapes from private people from areas that had not been tabulated and registered. MAIA together with the National Office of Vine and Wine would work out an extensive registration project, and grape producers who own technical varieties were urged to complete the registration process.
“The wine plots must be registered in the wine registry, in order to know the grape harvest, the quantity and the quality of the wine products,” he said.
Over 150 people participated in the event organized both online and offline. They represented countries from the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine) and from the EU, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain.
Conference participants discussed the challenges and opportunities of the wine sector, and experts in the field shared up-to-date research results and informed about new market trends and demands.
The conference was organized by CCI within the EU4Business: connecting companies of Eurochambres, funded by the EU. (Moldpres/Business World Magazine)
