Walnut production in Moldova has increased over the past 5 years by 55%, amounting to 14.7 thousand tons in 2020, and our country is one of the largest nut producers in the world.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry of Moldova Viorel Gherciu stated this while speaking at the 8th National Conference of Walnut Growers held in Chisinau under the slogan “The walnut industry of Moldova is on the verge of transformation. What's next?" During the event, issues related to increasing the production and processing of nuts, new priorities and development directions in this sector were raised. The head of the Ministry of Agriculture stressed that attention to the cultivation of walnuts has increased significantly, since the production of walnuts in the country has increased by 55% over the past 5 years, which puts our country among the main walnut-producing countries in the world. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, there are 34.7 thousand hectares of walnut crops in Moldova, of which 20.90 hectares are fruiting. Compared to 2018, the acreage under walnuts increased by about 4 thousand hectares. Of the fruiting areas of walnut crops, the total production of walnuts in 2020 amounted to 14.70 thousand tons, down about 5 thousand tons, compared to 2019, due to the consequences of natural disasters and the severe drought. Of the total walnut harvest in 2020, about 12.7 thousand tons were exported; their total cost amounted to about $71.7 million, of which about 79% (9.98 thousand tons) were supplied to the EU countries, including to France, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Austria, etc. According to statistics, from January to August 2021, about 4 thousand tons of walnut products were exported. According to experts' forecasts, this year in Moldova will be harvested more than 25 thousand tons of walnut. The matter concerns products obtained in orchards, as well as walnuts purchased from citizens who collected walnuts from trees along the roads. // 01.09.2021 – InfoMarket
