Moldovan PM meets two entrepreneurs developing successful businesses in Causeni

Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu met two entrepreneurs who manage businesses in the fields of fruit growing and winemaking during his visit to the south-eastern Causeni district.

In Grigorievca settlement, the PM spoke with the owners of Mihaivan LLC – a company specialized in cultivating and marketing fruit. Ion and Veronica Sitisco started their business in 2004 and, by investing in agriculture year after year, they managed to plant 214 hectares of orchards and vineyards.

Presently, the farm produces apricots, cherries, plums, peaches and grapes, which are sold both on the domestic market and exported, including to Poland and Romania. The company employs around 60 people from the locality and surrounding areas.

The company’s products stand out for their high quality, which is achieved thanks to modern agricultural machinery and equipment – a cold storage facility, modern fertigation systems, anti-hail and anti-rain systems and support systems for vineyards and intensive orchards. Along this journey, the company has also benefited from state financial support through the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA), with the total value of subsidies accessed so far exceeding 10 million lei. In the next period, the owners plan to get financial support to develop their cherry-sorting capacities.

The fruit growers said that preparations for the new agricultural season had already begun and that the outlook for this year was relatively good. In discussions, Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu emphasized that the government was identifying new support measures for farmers, in the context of the situation in the Middle East. These include extending the period for VAT (value added tax) refunds, simplifying the refund procedure, and making the necessary preparations for the 100-per cent refund of excise duty on diesel fuel used in the spring farming campaign.

Another business visited by Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu is Gogu Winery – a family-owned winery in the town of Causeni. The winemaking tradition in the Gogu family already spans four generations, and today the company’s wines are appreciated both in Moldova and internationally, winning gold medals at multiple competitions.

Winemaker Ilie Gogu spoke about the business’s development, noting that over the years significant investments had been made in vineyard plantations and in modern winemaking equipment – processing and storage, a wine production line, bottling and packaging. To optimize operational costs and improve energy efficiency, the company installed a photovoltaic panel system with AIPA’s financial support.

The winery continues to expand and invest in development. Plans include building a tasting room near the production area to promote wine tourism, as well as diversifying the range of wines and expanding production.