Cricova Winery increased its sales by 25% in the first half of 2022 relative to the same period in 2021.
The Public Property Agency reported this, without giving specific figures in terms of value. As noted, Cricova is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Cricova's acting director Sorin Maslo said management is working to reduce energy costs, expand its product range, including by growing organic grapes, and modernize bottling lines. According to him, the winery has recently switched to other markets. After the company's participation in the most prestigious wine exhibition ProWein in Dusseldorf (Germany) negotiations were held and several contracts for wine supplies to Germany and Benelux countries were signed. The geography of exports has diversified greatly. Shipments to Turkey, USA, China and Romania increased the most. With the help of a subsidy from the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture, the Cricova plant installed a photovoltaic park that will produce at least 140 kWh of electricity per year, which will eventually cut its energy costs in half. Also, a weather station has been installed at the Cricova plantation, which will greatly contribute to an increase in wine production. In the same context, the manager of the Cricova Winery said that he had signed a contract with the Institute of Horticulture that would help breed new varieties of locally grown, stable and high-quality vines. Due to the lack of a business plan and operational analysis at the enterprise, the Public Property Agency insisted on the adoption of a corporate governance code, an evaluation of organizational efficiency. The end result will be the approval of a 3-5 year business plan. Cricova's 2021 performance data has not been released. It was previously reported that the Winery’s net profit in 2020 amounted to 3.47 million lei, down 6.5 times compared with the previous year. The sales volume in 2020 decreased by 18.9% - from 298.58 million lei to 242.09 million lei. In 2020 the Winery produced 288 thousand decaliters (dal) of bottled still wines and 4 million 900 thousand bottles of sparkling wines (champagne) including 317 thousand bottles of classic sparkling wines. From total sales amounting to 242.09 million lei, about 51% of the production was sold in Moldova, and 49% was exported. Investments of Cricova in 2020 made 10.4 million lei, of which 7.6 million lei was used for maintenance and expansion of vineyards, and 2.8 million lei - for production equipment. The authorized capital of JSC Cricova is 182.56 million lei. 100% of the company's shares are owned by the state. Cricova Winery was founded in 1952. It is the only enterprise in Moldova producing sparkling wines by the classical champagnization method. It also makes a big assortment of good quality ordinary and vintage wines. //20.07.2022 - InfoMarket.
