According to the preliminary estimate of Speranța Con, the Association of Producers of Canned Fruit and Vegetables of Moldova, local factories producing apple juice concentrate and apple juices will process about 350 thousand tonnes of apples of the 2021 harvest by the end of the year. Over the past five years, the volume of industrial apple processed by these enterprises did not exceed 280-300 thousand tonnes average per season. The maximum volume of processed apples was around340 thousand tonnes (2018 harvest).

According to representatives of Speranța Con, the supply of apples from the orchards will be fully completed this week. Already now, apples from cold storage facilities account for the bulk of the raw materials supplied to concentrate factories. Experts of the association note that “in the last third of the harvesting, many agricultural producers, fearing sudden cold weather, put apples in refrigerators without primary sorting. As exports intensify in November-December, a large volume of apples is sorted now and sent for processing.”

Read also: 5 good news for the apple business in Eastern Europe – Andriy Yarmak

According to the processors’ forecast, factories will receive no more than 3-5 thousand tonnes of apples by the end of December 2021. The price will not change by the end of the year – up to 1.4 MDL/kg ($0.08/kg). Next year, the dynamics of raw materials supplies to factories will depend on the “fresh market” situation. However, it is almost certain that the volume of apple processing in winter and spring 2022 will be significantly lower than in the same period in 2021 (around 40 thousand tonnes).

Сообщение Moldova will process more apples this season than in 2018/19 despile lower harvest появились сначала на EastFruit.

Recently, the management of JSC “Moldovagaz” urged the population of the Republic of Moldova “to reduce the gas consumption and if possible, to switch to alternative fuel.” Obviously, this statement is a consequence of the expected reduction in gas supplies to the country: Moldova (without Transnistria) negotiated with Gazprom the supply of 54 million cubic meters of gas – around 67% of the estimated monthly demand of 80 million cubic meters. This circumstance alarmed the energy-intensive companies from the agri-food sector, in particular, apple concentrate.

According to Speranța Con, the Association of Canned Fruit and Vegetable Producers, at the moment the regional divisions of Moldovagaz have not notified the apple concentrate producers about the reduction in gas supply. Nevertheless, in the context of the events taking place on the energy market and the aforementioned statement of Moldovagaz, the managers of these companies consider such a prospect as “highly probable”.

Many of the largest concentrate producers have biofuel energy infrastructures such as wood chips and dry apple pulp. However, such equipment is capable of meeting the needs of producers by a maximum of 15-20%. At the same time, some canning plants have already tried to buy additional volumes of wood fuel from forestry enterprises but were refused, motivated by the fact that, as directed by government agencies, they supply the population with firewood as a matter of priority. Representatives of canning  consider the use of diesel fuel or fuel oil as energy resources an even more problematic option.

In the current situation, the Speranța Con management considers the prioritization (at the government level, or the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agriculture) of industrial gas consumers according to the “priority level” the least painful option. Accordingly, processors of perishable agricultural raw materials should be included in the group of economic entities supplied with gas as a matter of priority and in sufficient quantities. Otherwise, a reduction in purchases of industrial apples – and according to the forecast of 600 thousand tons. Half of the harvest this season is suitable only for processing and this can lead to very serious economic and social consequences for the apple growers.

Сообщение Apple juice concentrate producers in Moldova could buy fewer apples due to natural gas shortages появились сначала на EastFruit.

Since the middle of the last decade of September, wholesale prices for plums in Moldova have increased by 3-4 MDL/kg in less than two weeks – on average, up to 9 MDL/kg ($0.51/kg). In fact, the average price returned to the August level, but still lags behind the level of October last year (10-11 MDL/kg, $0.58-0.64/kg).

The October rise in wholesale prices for Moldovan plums was predictable. According to EastFruit, the experts of the Federation of Farmers of the Republic of Moldova FARM linked the projected price rise with late-ripening plum varieties (“President”, etc.) prevailing in the supplies to the EU in October at a price of at least 8 MDL/kg ($0.45/kg).

Participants of the Moldovan fruit market argue that the increase in wholesale prices for plums in the first ten days of October, even slightly higher than the previously estimated average level, is explained by two reasons. The first is a rather rapid decline in supply: in many orchards, plums have already been harvested, the most part of them sold and the rest stored.

Another reason is the continuing high demand from processors. The only difference is that in the second half of September the main buyers of industrial plums were canning factories producing plum paste. In October, their place was taken by local and Romanian producers of alcoholic beverages. By now, late plums have finally reached the required sugar content, but their quality for the most part no longer fits the requirements of the “fresh market”. However, it suits this category of buyers. As a result, the purchase price for the lowest-quality industrial plum rose to 2.5-3 MDL/kg ($0.14-0.17/kg). Based on this level, producers increase the supply prices of more or less high-quality plums.

Сообщение Processors push up prices for Moldovan plums in October появились сначала на EastFruit.

At the beginning of June 2021, the first green fresh peas were sold at 70-80 MDL/ kg ($ 3.93-7.50 / kg) in the Moldovan small fruit and vegetable stores. In the stalls nearby, cucumbers, which sellers recommended to buyers as “our Spring”, were offered for the same price. On the other side of the counters, the same price tag was displayed for imported strawberries. At the beginning of the last decade of the first month of summer in the Chisinau fruit and vegetable markets, “just a cucumber” can be found at 5-8 MDL / kg ($ 0.28-4.50 / kg), both in retail and in small wholesale. “Spring” is still several lei more expensive. For green fresh peas, even a little “sour”, the retail price does not fall below 15-20 MDL / kg ($ 0.84-1.12 / kg). Beautiful, fresh and young peas in street fruit and vegetable stalls and tents can cost 30-40 MDL / kg ($ 1.68-2.25 / kg). Isn’t it a niche?

At the same time, the wholesale price for green fresh peas is formed only when they become raw materials. In Moldova, two large canning factories purchase relatively large quantities of green fresh peas for the production of canned “green peas”. Another large cannery grows it on its own fields,  and two or three factories on both banks of the Dniester grow and buy vegetable peas only for freezing. According to the representatives of the Speranța Con Association of Canned Fruit and Vegetable Producers, in 2021, compared to the last dry and extremely unsuccessful year, the cultivation of vegetable peas in the country increased by 30-50% – to about 1,000 hectares. The price for processing grade product has increased in comparison with its last year level by an average of 0.5 MDL / kg – up to 5 MDL/ kg. Due to the rains, the mechanical harvesting of this crop is even more difficult.

Some experts in the Moldovan fruit-growing industry believe that extra-early green fresh peas could really become a niche crop of “small areas” for small farmers who have land in inconveniences – for example, on steep slopes and at the foot of hills. It is probably possible to grow peas both under agril and in greenhouses – as a second or third crop.

However, if the areas cultivated with green fresh peas grow to the level of five or seven years ago – that is, up to 4-5 thousand hectares – its “niche” will quickly disappear. However, the Speranța Con Association believes that, given the current production and commercial reality, under the best conditions, the area of ​​irrigated land under vegetable peas in the country will hardly exceed 2 thousand hectares.

Сообщение Can green fresh peas become a niche product on the fresh produce market in Moldova? появились сначала на EastFruit.