According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment (MADRM), in December 2020 Moldova exported about 10,500 tons of apples, while in the same month of 2019 – about 17,000 tons, and in 2018 – 20,000 tons.
The maximum export volume of apples of the 2020 harvest was in August – more than 15,000 tons. However, it significantly decreased, stabilizing in October-November at a level of just over 6,000 tons. On the eve of the winter holidays, market operators predicted an abrupt growth in these fruits’ exports in December. The increase was not as significant as farmers and traders hoped.
Experts from agricultural producers’ organizations identify several primary reasons for the decline in Moldovan apple exports in August-December 2020. The main reason is a sharp decline in these fruits’ harvest: only 430,000 tons in 2020 against 610,000 tons in 2019. Consequently, from the very beginning of autumn, high-quality apples were placed for long-term storage. In such conditions, the resource for export deliveries of lower quality products “directly from the garden” or from primitive warehouses was exhausted quite quickly – by the beginning of November.
Another reason, obviously related to the first, is the high supply prices for Moldovan apples of almost all varieties. Moreover, exporting traders preferred to postpone deliveries hoping for high prices for apples in the primary (Russian) sales market in the second half of winter. Although this was a high risk, traders did not prefer to reduce the price to increase exports in response to buyers’ numerous requests.
As a result, from August to December 2020, only about 48,000 tons of apples were exported from Moldova, while in the same period of the previous year this country sold about 76,000 tons of apples abroad.
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