Only about 2% of the wines exported by the Republic of Moldova reach the Ukrainian market. Most Moldovan wines go to other markets, especially those of the European Union. This is how Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Digitization Eugeniu Osmochescu responded to a question about the economic impact of a possible licensing measure imposed by Ukraine on wines produced in Moldova.
The Deputy Prime Minister explained that this was not about an embargo imposed by Ukraine on imports of Moldovan wines, but about a possible licensing of these products.
“We are not talking about an embargo; an embargo could only be imposed in violation of international law, of the Free Trade Agreement to which both states are parties, and of WTO rules. The Ukrainian side has announced the possibility of imposing licensing requirements on the import into Ukraine of grapes, wine, and strong spirits from the Republic of Moldova,” he said.
The official pointed out that at present, the responsible institutions of the two states were holding discussions to find best solutions to the situation.
“At the moment, we are in daily discussions with the authorities in Ukraine, including via the food safety agencies, in order to find solutions to the problem that has arisen – the import of chicken meat into the Republic of Moldova. For us, the most important thing is the safety of consumers in the Republic of Moldova. Standards in the Republic of Moldova are so high that we already have access to the European Union market with chicken meat and eggs, which is why we can say with certainty that we are 100% aligned with the European Union’s food safety standards. Therefore, we have no room for alternative discussions,” Osmochescu said.
The Deputy Prime Minister mentioned that the private sector in the Republic of Moldova and in Ukraine had held talks to find technical solutions to unblock imports of poultry meat into the Republic of Moldova, and that new discussions between the food safety agencies of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova were scheduled.
“We will discuss at a technical level how to unblock the situation,” Osmochescu underlined.
He assured that trade relations between the two countries remained a priority.
“They are always conducted in a spirit of good neighborliness and friendship; nothing will certainly be damaged in the future. Because we are now looking for solutions to unblock the situation. I repeat, our top priority is the safety of consumers in the Republic of Moldova,” he concluded. (Moldpres)