According to Moldova’s fruit growers’ information in June 2023 Moldova exported more than 8 thousand tons of sweet cherries. This is almost 1.5 thousand tons more than in the same month of 2022, according to EastFruit.
Traditionally, most Moldovan cherries were shipped to the Russian market. In the second half of June, exports of sweet cherries from Moldova to the western regions of Ukraine have increased significantly. Also, traders highlighted unusually high exports of Moldovan sweet cherries to the EU countries in June – 1.3 thousand tons. For the entire 2022, the country exported to the European market a little less than 1 thousand tons.
In July, exports of Moldovan sweet cherries continues, but this process will not last long – perhaps for another 10 days. According to exporters, there is a demand from buyers from the EU and the CIS for both large size cherries and cherries with a caliber of less than 26 mm. This factor pushed the prices for sweet cherries in Moldova up significantly.
By the end of the current working week, wholesale prices for sweet cherries in Moldova increased by 7-9%. Large sizes went up in price to 27-28 lei/kg ($1.47-1.52/kg) and small cherries – up to 18-25 lei/kg ($0.98-1.36/kg). The average price level for cherries at the end of the first week of July is close to a five-year high for this period of the season.
However, last year’s exports of sweet cherries, which almost reached 13,000 tons, will almost certainly not be exceeded this year. The heads of many large farms note that their sweet cherry harvest is 20-30% lower than last year, which will affect the export potential.
