First producer of cornels from Moldova gets certificates GLOBALG.A.P., GRASP

Chisinau, 31 October /MOLDPRES/ - The first cornels producing farm from Moldova has got the certificates GlobalG.A.P. and GRASP, which confirms the observance of the good practices and the social responsibility of the company in relation with its employees. The Stratan family from the Cretoaia village, central Anenii Noi district, produces cornels on an area of almost five hectares. The fruits are meant for export, as well as for sale on the local market.     

The cornel tree orchard was planted in 2000, testing the production of 23 varieties of cornel trees. ‘’We were pioneers in Moldova as to the cornel tree orchard and we are just several producers in Europe. On the European market, the fruits are delivered dry and are exported congealed or combined with others fruits to the United States. In 2022, we got an overall harvest of 25 tons, of which 70 per cent were exported. This year, the harvest is much lower, as it was hit by the droughts from 2022 and 2023,’’ Iurie Stratan said.   

The entrepreneur noted that the certification GlobalG.A.P. had opened new opportunities and will allow accessing new markets, with better prices.   

The farm of the Stratan family benefited from support on behalf of the USAID Rural Competitiveness and Resilience Activity Project for the implementation of the standard GlobalG.A.P. and GRASP. ‘’Certainly, these are the first producers of cornels from Moldova with European certification and it is not ruled out that this is the first company of Europe certified with GlobalG.A.P for producing cornels,’’ a manager within the USAID project, Andrei Cumpanici, said.   

In Moldova, there are about 20 hectares of cornel tree orchards. Moldova is among the regional leaders in terms of implementation of the GlobalG.A.P. and GRASP standards. There about 100 certified farmers, including from the Transnistrian region and the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. So far, the GlobalG.A.P. and GRASP certificates have been got for the production of apples, plums, grapes, sweet cherries, apricots and this year, the production of strawberries and cornels was certified for the first time ever and the production of black currant is in the process of certification.       

Photo: Rural Competitiveness and Resilience Activity in Moldova Project