The Moldovan authorities should make more efforts to diversify the markets for Moldovan agricultural products, - the Institute for European Policies and Reforms recommendations.
This is stated in the alternative report "Eight years of the implementation of the Moldova-EU Association Agreement", prepared by the Institute for European Policies and Reforms, which presents the achievements, limitations and priorities in various areas of the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU. In the section devoted to agriculture and rural development, the authors of the project note the achievements of recent years: the approval of the Law on Livestock, the increase in export quotas in the EU for 7 types of agricultural products that have not yet been fully liberalized (plums, table grapes, tomatoes, etc.). In order to reduce the negative impact of diesel fuel price increase, the government decided to fully compensate small and medium-sized agricultural producers for excise taxes on consumed fuel. 300 million lei were allocated for these purposes. The size of the National Fund for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas increased by 60% compared to last year - up to 1.75 billion lei. A new strategic document in the field of agricultural development for 2022-2027 has been developed. At the end of 2021, there was a significant increase in the agricultural sector - by 49% compared to the previous year - the volume of agricultural production amounted to 461 billion lei. However, as experts emphasize, if the statistics for the first half of 2022 are still positive due to a good harvest last year, then the forecasts for the second half of the year and for 2023 are less optimistic. Part of the agricultural products was destroyed by the drought, which, for example, reduced the corn crop, and because of the war in Ukraine, fertilizers became much more expensive - their shortage also affected the volume of agricultural production. Russia temporarily limited the supply of agricultural products from Moldova, and this, first of all, affected apple producers, who supplied more than 90% of their products to the Russian market. At the same time, if efforts are not made to adequately plan and achieve the goals of the National Strategy for the Development of Agriculture until 2027, this document may turn out to be ineffective. It is also necessary to clearly plan the sources of funding for the implementation of the strategy. Experts believe that the authorities should make more efforts to diversify the markets for Moldovan products. Such a large share of the Russian Federation in the geography of supplies of Moldovan apples creates vulnerabilities, especially in a situation where this country has repeatedly demonstrated its unreliability as a trading partner. Experts also consider it necessary to develop a program to support manufacturers so that they can identify new markets for their products. In addition, it is necessary to develop a universal list of investment projects in the agricultural sector, with specific goals for their financing, in order to improve the possibilities of attracting international financial institutions and foreign investors to financing. Herewith, investments in the agricultural sector should be focused on increasing productivity.// 28.11.2022 — InfoMarket
