Nigeria becomes main African market for Moldovan Wines

Strengthening cooperation with Nigeria, the largest African importer of Moldovan wines, has been the main topic on the discussion agenda at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAIA), which hosted a delegation of distributors from Nigeria on August 28.

According to MAIA, this market is of strategic importance.

"Nigeria is a dynamic and receptive market. Through information campaigns, tastings, and topic-related events, we can strengthen the presence of Moldova in the long term," said Andrian Digolean, State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture.

At the same time, the official noted that Moldova had repeatedly proved its capacity to organize large-scale events. In June, the country hosted the Congress of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), a benchmark event appreciated for its organization. In next September, Chisinau will host the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, the edition dedicated to sparkling wines, and later,  Moldova will be present at the Moldovan Wine Festival in Bucharest. The official also invited the Nigerian delegation to participate, in the first weekend of October, at the National Wine Day, an emblematic celebration of the country and one of the largest wine-dedicated events in Eastern Europe.

The Nigerian delegation appreciated the diversity and quality of Moldovan wines, expressing interest in developing new partnerships. They also expressed the wish to organize joint events, in order to introduce Moldovan wines to Nigerian consumers and pointed out there is openness to collaborations in other agri-food products.

In the first seven months of 2025, Moldova exported 1.648 million liters of wine to Africa, of which almost 0.9 million liters were to Nigeria alone. With a population of over 230 million people (the largest in Africa and the sixth in the world), Nigeria  went up to the eighth place in the global ranking of Moldovan wine importers and first on the continent, followed by Ghana, which is on the tenth position. Presently, nine companies of Moldova export wines to the Nigerian market.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and the National Office of Vine and Wine say they will continue to develop partnerships aimed at strengthening Moldova's position on the Nigerian market and leveraging the commercial potential.