The campaign for harvesting the first group grain might fail since farmers are not able to buy diesel fuel at wholesale prices, which endangers Moldova’s food security – the Ministry of Agriculture stated.
This was announced on Friday at a briefing by acting Minister of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment Ion Perju. He noted that the grain harvesting campaign began in a number of settlements in Moldova, in some of them harvesting was started even before the frequent and heavy rains of recent times. Now the weather is favorable both in the southern and central Moldova and harvesting is in full swing. Wheat and barley are being harvested already in some north fields. “However, agricultural producers made it clear that they could not get the necessary amount of fuel to start harvesting grain,” said Ion Perju. According to him, the sectoral department was notified to take the necessary measures and appeal to the competent institutions to solve the problem, in this case - to the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure and the National Energy Regulatory Agency. The head of the Ministry of Agriculture explained that after the approval of the new Pricing Methodology for petroleum products by ANRE on June 14, the ministry found out that agricultural producers receive only small volumes of fuel from distribution chains, especially diesel fuel, which excludes any opportunity to help farmers in securing volumes required to start agricultural work. “To put it simply, after these changes, agricultural producers cannot provide themselves with the necessary volume of diesel fuel at wholesale prices, but are forced to buy fuel at retail prices of gas stations,” Ion Perju explained. According to him, at current prices and demand for diesel fuel per unit area, the competitiveness of domestic products is decreasing in comparison with the regional market. “Moreover, in such situations, when prompt intervention of agricultural producers is necessary, taking into account the intensity of precipitation, the quantity and quality of products that underlie the country's food security, this security can be threatened,” the head of the Ministry of Agriculture said. As he mentioned, according to calculations, for work on 418 thousand hectares of farmland sown with grain crops of the first group this year, at least 30 million liters of diesel fuel are needed, but this volume can grow significantly. In this situation, the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and the Environment asks for urgent intervention of competent structures in the new Pricing Methodology for petroleum products in order not to endanger or impede the harvesting of first group grain, as well as other agricultural work. Ion Perju assured that the Ministry of Agriculture will take all measures to provide farmers with access to diesel fuel at affordable prices so that the harvesting campaign is successful. He recalled that Moldova plans to harvest 1.2-1.3 million tons of wheat this year, which will be enough to ensure the country's food security and its massive export. “But there are problems that do not depend on us. The normal activities of agricultural producers are under threat. We urgently need to take the necessary measures to resolve the situation, otherwise the farmers are ready for strikes and protests, as well as road closures,” said the head of the Ministry of Agriculture. // 09.07.2021 – InfoMarket
