Moldova Ramps Up Milk Production to Meet Demand
Moldova's Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, Vladimir Bolea, recently announced that domestic milk production is expected to surpass 160,000 tons within the next three years.
This surge represents more than 30% of the country's milk consumption needs.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (BNS), Moldova had roughly 5,100 cows on farms in 2020. These cows produced around 22,000 tons of milk. Thanks to government subsidy programs, the number of milking cows has grown significantly, reaching approximately 12,000 today. The ultimate goal is to achieve domestic milk production of 160,000 tons by 2027 under farm conditions. This ambitious target would allow Moldova to confidently secure its food supply in terms of milk products.
Data from the Agency for Interventions and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA) shows that since the beginning of March, there have been 185 applications submitted for direct payments per kilogram of cow's milk. The total requested subsidy amount is 69 million lei. This initiative follows the launch of a second round of applications for direct payments in the livestock sector earlier in March. The program allows milk producers to access direct payments of 3 lei per kilogram of milk produced between July 1 and December 31, 2023.
Currently, domestic farms produce just over 40,000 tons of milk, falling short of the national demand exceeding 500,000 tons. To bridge this gap, Moldova relies on significant milk imports from Poland, Romania, and Ukraine.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
