Experts of the Federation of Agricultural Producers of Moldova FARM note that due to rains and temperature changes in the second half of summer, plums are cracking in many plum orchards. For this reason, a significant part of the harvest is sent for processing – for the production of pasta, alcoholic beverages and dried fruits.
This is also facilitated by the high demand and prices for processing quality grade plums. Earlier EastFruit reported that prices for processing quality grade plums of the “Kabardinskaya” early variety for the production of pasta were in the range of 2.8-3.4 MDL/kg ($ 0.16-0.19/kg) in August. According to farmers, plums of “Chachakskaya” variety were in high demand among dried fruit producers in the second half of August and they offered about 4 MDL/kg ($ 0.23/kg). In September, a relatively high level of prices is also maintained for technical plums of the “Stanley” variety, which is the most widespread in Moldova.
The opportunity to sell low-quality plums for processing rather profitably contributes to keeping high prices for plums of average quality. At the end of August – beginning of September this year, the average wholesale price for plums was in the range of 7-8 MDL/kg (0.39-0.45/kg). At the same time, the situation is not stable, prices fluctuated weekly within 1-2 MDL/kg, depending on the activity of traders and the prevailing product quality. Nevertheless, during this period, wholesale prices for plums were $ 0.01-0.02/kg higher than in the same period in 2020.
The short-term forecast of FARM experts is generally favorable. They see an increase in exports – both to the EU and the CIS – as the harvesting of Stanley plums moves forward. Prices for high-quality plums can also rise for supplies to European markets.
Experts note that due to the late ripening of plums of autumn varieties, most of them will be sold on the fresh market or sent for processing directly from orchards, bypassing refrigerators. Having no costs for storage will help to reduce the cost of production. It will be profitable for growers to sell plums even if the prices “lag behind the desired growth dynamics” at some point.
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