Moldovan apple exports to the EU increased significantly in 2024
After a long period when Moldovan apples were exported only to the CIS countries, in the last two years the Republic of Moldova has delivered apples to over 30 world countries. Last year, apple exports increased by 12 percent compared to 2023, and deliveries to the EU increased by 87%. Moldova is the second export destination, according to data from the Moldova Fruct Association. Also, the Indian market, which has a great potential of over 1.4 billion consumers, was opened in February.
Iurie Dogotari is a fruit exporter with over 15 years of experience. He delivers apples to both the EU and CIS markets. Now he is preparing the first batch of apples for India, in the city of Mumbai, with the opening of access to this market as well.
The Indian market is a market of almost one and a half billion people. It is an interesting market for us right now, but any market is good when you diversify. The Indian market, for us, let's say, is more of a test period. But it is a good market. We send around 20 tons, we send it through the port of Istanbul, to the port of Mumbai. About, it is a batch that would cost around 15,000 euros. We hope to arrive in India in a month,r a month and a half, possibly up to two months.
In recent years, export markets for Moldovan fruits have expanded considerably, claims the executive director of the Moldova Fruct Association, Iurie Fală.
In first place is the Russian Federation with about 67%. We have the EU, we talk about Romania, where exports doubled in 2024 compared to 2023 and reached the figure of about 25,000 tons. And in 3rd place is Belarus and in 4th place is Saudi Arabia, where we exported the largest quantity from the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is a completely new market, which we discovered in recent years. They could have been even bigger exports there, but the war taking place in the Middle East, between Israel and Palestine, blocked transit through the Red Sea.
Both farmers and the authorities in the field have invested a lot so that local fruits are competitive on foreign markets, says the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, Vasile Șarban.
So in recent years we have had a subsidy policy that has allowed producers to establish super-intensive plantations, the assortment that is in demand on the market, the technologies that are implemented in these plantations are modern. In the future, therefore, the Ministry must be directly concerned with ensuring that agricultural producers have a decent subsidy policy, so that we can continue to establish fruit plantations and not just apples. I am also referring to cherry, apricot, peach, plum and many other crops that we have in the country. And let us focus on creating these bridges and continue so that agricultural producers can capitalize on their land, create jobs, make a profit and contribute to the national budget and the country's infrastructure.
We would like to point out that, after many years when Moldovan apples were exported only to the CIS countries, the Republic of Moldova has delivered thousands of tons of apples to over 30 world countries in the last two years, according to the Moldova-Fruct Association. Exports to the EU have practically doubled from 12 thousand tons to 22 thousand tons in the last two years, the main destination is Romania, with a share of 90% of the total export to the EU. Also, apple exports to the Middle East have also increased.
