Berry producers of Moldova look for new sales markets

Chisinau, 5 May /MOLDPRES/ - The berry producers must diversify their sales market from this season, given that the logistic costs of export to the traditional Russian market have considerably increased because of the war in Ukraine. Producers and exporters of berries have reached a conclusion in this respect at a workshop recently organized by Moldova’s Berries Association, in partnership with the High Value Agricultural Activity (HVAA) in Moldova project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).      

„To enhance the competitiveness of the berries produced in Moldova, berry producers and exporters should diversify the cultivated varieties of strawberries and raspberries, appreciated on the European markets, manage the level of residue in products, according to the requirements of commercial networks, get international certificates, which confirm the products’ safety,’’ the participants said.      

They also highlighted the importance of modernizing the technologies of berries’ production, including through investments in protected areas, in order to reduce the risks caused by climate conditions, such as the spring frost or rains on the harvesting period.  At the same time, producers discussed possibilities of exporting congealed berries, such as raspberries, strawberries, black currants or blackberries, excluding the risks of losing the production of berries, which are extremely perishable.       

The head of Moldova’s Berries Association, Aneta Ganenco, said that there were presently more possibilities to increase the sales of berries, including on the domestic market, especially if producers orient themselves to produce berries in protected spaces, in order to meet the demand of native consumers outside the season of production in open field.  

For his part, a specialist at the USAID HVAA project, Oleg Calestru, said that, in the last two years, stagnation in terms of extending the areas of berries had been noticed; instead, we record an increase in the harvest and quality of berries, due to the improvement of the production technology. Thus, while in 2022, about 4,000 hectares planted with berries were registered in Moldova, from which about 15,000 tons of berries were harvested, in 2021, about 18.7 thousand tons of berries were harvested from an area of 3.8 thousand hectares. ‘’The tendency of improving the quality of fruits harvested is important, given that we are set to reorient the exports to European markets,’’ Calestru noted.     

Presently, about 3.8 thousand hectares planted with berries are recorded in Moldova. As much as 1,920 hectares are planted with strawberries, about 1,000 hectares - with raspberries, 160 hectares - with blackberries; the rest of the areas are planted with box thorns, black currants, chokeberries, etc. As much as 4,243 tons out of the total volume of berries harvested in 2021, which amounted to about 18.7 thousand tons, were exported to Russia’s market and to Romania; another 14,000 tons were consumed on the domestic market in fresh state or processed. At present, Moldova ranks 35th in the world in terms of export of fresh strawberries and 25th in the export of fresh raspberries.     

Photo: USAID