Agriculture
Agriculture has traditionally been and remains the main pillar of the Moldovan economy. The country has favorable soil resources and conditions for agricultural production, particularly for growing fruit and vegetables. A moderate continental climate with short and relatively warm winters and long, hot summers permits early planting, giving producers a strong competitive advantage. Moldovan farmers have experience in a wide variety of agricultural activities but a shrinking rural workforce and rising average wages favors accelerated introduction of automated farming methods and technologies. Unfortunately, the introduction of higher yield and drought-resistant GMO seeds is complicated by Moldova’s increasing alignment with EU regulations that limit the use of such technologies.
Farmland covers 2.49 million hectares, or 75 percent of the country’s territory, including 1.86 million hectares of arable land. The agricultural sector employs over 21 percent of the country’s labor force and agricultural production usually accounts for around 12 percent of Moldova’s GDP. Combined with the food processing industry, the sector represents more than 18 percent of GDP and approximately 45 percent of total exports.
The government allows for private land ownership, but foreigners are not permitted to purchase agricultural land. As such, foreign investment in agriculture is often structured as a long-term lease or is conducted through a Moldovan intermediary.
More than one million tons of fresh fruits and vegetables are produced annually, with 80 percent of the total production taking place in individual households. Ninety percent of locally processed fruits and vegetables is exported.
Moldova offers a large range of agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and livestock. Basic crops include winter and spring grains (wheat, barley, maize), sunflowers, sugar beet, potatoes and other root vegetables, horticultural crops, and fruits.
Moldova’s vegetable crops include tomatoes, onions, cabbage, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers, carrots, red beets, garlic, squash, eggplants, potherbs, and green peas. Fruit production concentrates on apples, plums, sweet and sour cherries, pears, peaches & nectarines, quinces, apricots, soft fruit, walnuts, and table and wine grapes.
The main products in the Moldovan livestock sector are poultry, pork, and beef.
Leading Sub-Sectors
Leading agricultural subsectors are fruits and vegetables (fresh, dried and frozen), fruit and vegetable processing, organic farming, walnut production, bioenergy production, berry production, the oleaginous plant industry, livestock production, and wine.
Opportunities
Opportunities include orchards, vineyards, wineries, vegetable growing in open fields and greenhouses, and industrial crop production. Processing of agriculture production is potentially an attractive area for investment. Equipment and technology are required for storage, packaging, and long-distance transportation of fresh products; drying; instant freezing; canning; and the production of ingredients and additives. Other related activities of interest include input supplies. Irrigation, packaging and processing equipment, and agricultural machinery offer other opportunities, as well as production and trade of planting materials and agribusiness leasing. There is increasing demand for organic products, creating opportunities for organic farming. Other niche opportunities include: services for product quality and safety standards in wineries; re-equipping of wineries; vineyard replanting; and expansion of wineries into the tourism industry.
Agriculture
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