Moldova’s apple exports have surged in January 2024, reaching over 14 thousand tons and $7.9 million in value, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry of the Republic of Moldova (MAIA). This is a remarkable improvement from the previous month, when the country exported only 7.5 thousand tons of apples. However, this figure is still far below the January 2023 level, when Moldova shipped nearly 26 thousand tons of apples abroad, EastFruit reports. In fact, January 2024 was one of the worst months for Moldovan apple exports in the last five years, matching the crisis year of 2021. The peak of apple exports was achieved in January 2015, with about 35 thousand tons.
Moldova sold its apples to 22 different countries in the past month, as well as in December 2023. The main buyers of this fruit were Romania (2.1 thousand tons) and Saudi Arabia (more than 1 thousand tons). However, the Russian market accounted for more than half of the January export of Moldovan apples.
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Despite the low volume of external supplies for January, the Moldovan apple market operators are cautiously optimistic about the export prospects of this product in the current year. They are encouraged by the twofold increase (compared to the previous month) in apple sales to Romania, as well as to the markets of the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia. Moreover, the demand for apples is on the rise in the current month.
