Moldova to export over 7 thousand tons of sweet cherries in 2013

The sweet cherry harvest in Moldova will make about 8.3 thousand tons this year, of which about 7 thousand tons will be exported, said acting Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov, during a working visit to a sweet-cherry orchard located in Furceni village, Orhei district.   During his visit, he recalled that agricultural goods make 42% of Moldova’s overall export quota.

«About 90% of sour cherry harvest is exported to the Commonwealth of Independent States. The rest is meant for Moldova’s internal consumption, as well as for the subsequent processing at Moldovan canneries,» said Bumacov.    

At the same time, he admitted that so far, Moldovan sweet cherries cannot compete with the European ones, because of the poorly-developed packaging industry in the country.   

«This sector must be reformed and the first step in this respect would be the replacement of the current cherry varieties with more resistant ones, as well as the development of the processing industry. All the farmers that will grow sweet cherries will receive state subsidies,» said Vasile Bumacov.   

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the average yielding capacity, over the past years, stood at 3.4 tons per hectare. Moldovan cherry orchards cover an area of over 3 thousand hectares, of which 2.5 hectares are fruit-bearing.

Adapted from Infotag