Moldovan potato growers complain that they have nowhere to sell their crops. Due to the pandemic, demand from restaurants and cafes has dropped, and ordinary consumers have begun to buy less.
Farmers claim that store shelves and market counters are filled with imported goods that are offered at lower prices than Moldovan ones, tvc.md reports.
Radu Grosu has been growing potatoes for many years on the lands belonging to him in the village of Dubossary, Criuleni region. It is one of the largest manufacturers in the country, whose products are supplied to the markets and chain stores of the capital. This year, the farmer received a good harvest of five varieties of potatoes from one hundred hectares, which he was very happy about, but now he does not know to whom and how to sell the crop.
“Lack of consumer demand. An important sales factor is the HoReCa sphere, and, accordingly, there are no such sales as in previous years. We have every chance of not selling potatoes until next year, ”said the farmer.
Another factor hindering the sale of Moldovan potatoes was that the local market was filled with imports. The imported goods are sold at lower prices than the local ones, says Radu Grosu.
“The price of imported potatoes is about 20% lower than that of local products. They receive additional subsidies that allow them to sell potatoes at a lower price that we cannot afford, ”Grosu said.
The farmer says the situation was completely different last year at this time of year.
“There was a shortage of potatoes, the demand was much higher. And during this period, at the end of November, we have already finished selling our potatoes, we had to buy them from other local farmers or even start importing the goods, ”said the potato producer.
To help farmers, the authorities should impose a temporary ban on potato imports or raise customs duties, officials from the Potato Growers Association said.
“There are too many imports, our producers are at a loss. They invest in seeds, technology, storage. And as a result, they cannot sell potatoes at 4-5 lei per kg, although this is a pretty good price, ”said Petru Ilev, chairman of the Potato Producers Association.
In turn, the Ministry of Agriculture says that they cannot ban the import of this crop and that potato producers have not yet informed the authorities about their problems.
“The ministry cannot interfere with the regulation of prices, the Republic of Moldova is a member of international trade organizations, and in accordance with the agreements, we must provide equal conditions for implementation for everyone,” said spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture Ekaterina Grigorian.
According to statistics, a resident of Moldova consumes about 110 kilograms of potatoes annually. This year, potato sowing has occupied almost 23 thousand hectares, which is almost 5 thousand more than in 2019. The data of the National Food Safety Agency show that in 2020 our republic imported almost 45 thousand tons of potatoes, and last year more than 51 thousand tons. The price per kilogram of potatoes ranges from 5 to 8 lei, while in 19 it even reached 20 lei per kilogram.