The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAIA), together with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Moldova, is preparing a request to the European Commission to increase the preferential quota-2022 for the export of Moldovan plums to the European market up to 20 000 tonnes. Last year, the quota was 15 000 tonnes, in 2020 – 10 000 tonnes.

Earlier, several organizations of agricultural producers addressed the Moldovan government with a proposal to initiate a dialogue with the EU on further increase in export quotas (primarily for plums, and other fruit crops). The proposal was motivated by the fact that the volume of plum supplies to the European Union has increased significantly over the past five years. The only exception was 2018, when a little more than 12 000 tonnes were supplied to the EU from Moldova (in 2017 – almost 20 000 tonnes). However, in 2019 the European export of Moldovan plums returned to the level of 20 000 tonnes, and in 2020 it amounted to more than 22 000 tonnes.

In 2021, according to preliminary data from the Moldovan customs service, about 27 000 tonnes of plums were sent to the EU. As specialists of local associations of agricultural producers note, about 3 000-4 000 tonnes of these plums were exported to Romania for processing. According to them, the volume of exports to the European market of premium-quality Moldovan plums in small consumer packaging also increased.

Representatives of agrarian associations believe that there are good chances that the export of plums from Moldova to the European Union will exceed 20 000 tonnes this year.

Сообщение Moldova intends to negotiate an increase in the duty-free quota for plum exports to the EU появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to experts from the Federation of Agricultural Producers of Moldova (FARM), many farmers of the country will, to a greater or lesser extent, face a “crisis of growth in production costs in 2022 – a significant increase in the cost of fertilizers, pesticides, energy resources, parts for machinery and equipment, as well as an increase in seasonal labor costs”. Obviously, forced savings on some factors of production are unlikely to result into success on the intensive plantations of many fruits in the short term. However, this process may have the least negative impact in plum orchards. Moreover, if accompanied by transition to organic production, plum growers could even benefit from reduced investments in fertilizers and crop protection products.

Read also: TOP-10 events of the produce business in Moldova in 2021

According to expert estimates, the total area of ​​plum orchards in Moldova was 21.9 thousand hectares in 2021. Only a small share, less than 10% of these plantations, can be classified as semi-intensive and intensive (in the latter case – not less than 1.25 thousand trees per hectare). At the same time, not all them are equipped with drip irrigation systems, and only a few are equipped with anti-hail protection systems or anti-rain film. Last year, the quality of Moldovan plums suffered primarily from the slow accumulation of sugar and cracking due to excess moisture. Heavy precipitation complicated and reduced the efficiency of disinfections.

It is obvious that the volume and quality of the plum harvest will remain strongly dependent on natural factors in 2022. But, given the sharp rise in the cost of resources, some growers will consider it an acceptable solution to reduce the cost of fertilizers, pesticides and even irrigation in plum orchards. In this context, some agricultural producers also consider this year “convenient for joining the transition to organic farming, subsidized by the state and donor projects.”

Representatives of certification companies note that the transition to organic production in fruit growing takes at least two to three seasons. Consequently, farmers should first assess the possibility of abandoning agricultural chemicals throughout this period, as well as invest heavily in organic fertilizers and plant protection products.

Сообщение The transition to organic production is the best solution for Moldovan plum growers – opinion появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to a preliminary assessment of the organizations of fruit growers in Moldova, the plum harvest in the country amounted to around 105-125 thousand tonnes this year (in 2020 – about 65 thousand tonnes, in 2019 – 109 thousand tonnes, in 2018 – 133 thousand tonnes). Despite an almost twofold increase in the production compared to last year’s level, plum exports are unlikely to reach the level of 2020 this year.

As of early December 2021, around 52 thousand tonnes of plums of the new harvest were exported from the country. According to expert estimates, less than 1,000 tonnes of plums remain in the cold storage facilities of growers and traders, which will be sold on the domestic market. The export of plums of the 2020 harvest amounted to about 56 thousand tonnes.

According to participants the country’s fruit market, “the surplus of the increased plum harvest in 2021 was mainly used for processing.” According to the members of the Speranța Con Association of Canned Fruit and Vegetable Producers, about 10-12 thousand tonnes of plums were processed into paste – significantly more than last year. According to preliminary estimates of market players, enterprises for the production of dried fruits purchased 20-30 thousand tonnes of industrial plums (their warehouses were empty since last year’s poor harvest, and the demand for dried fruits was great).

It is extremely difficult to determine the volume of plum sales on the domestic fresh market, but it is in no way less than several tens of thousands of tonnes. In the current fruitful year, it is likely to have increased – plums have been and remain the most affordable type of stone fruit.

Сообщение 2021 in Moldova was marked by a higher plum harvest and reduced exports появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to Moldovan traders, the duty-free quota (15 thousand tonnes) on imports of plums to the European Union for 2021 was fulfilled by the beginning of October. At the same time, about 20-30% of all Moldovan plums sent to the European Union this year went to Romania for processing. Due to these supplies on the Moldovan domestic market, the wholesale price for low-quality plums remained at an acceptable level in August – September.

Meanwhile, producers of fruit distillates in Moldova actually left the industrial plum market, some of them even last season. The reason is the change in the conditions for licensing and bottling of the production, which entailed a significant increase in the cost of their documenting. Due to rains and cool weather this year, farmers were ready to give cracked plums for distillation at a price 25-30% lower than the canning factories purchased plums for the production of plum paste. Although a few years ago, it was the distillate producers that acted as the driving force of pricing for industrial plums.

Quince that couldn’t be sold due to lack of demand is now being offered to local distillate producers at a symbolic price. However, the largest distillate producers have not even started working.

The situation may change if the parliament adopts the already developed amendments to the legislation on fruit distillates trade. But even if this happens, the new licensing rules will have their impact on the industrial plum market only next season.

Сообщение This season Moldovan distillate producers did not support the local plum market появились сначала на EastFruit.

The experts of the Federation of Agricultural Producers of Moldova FARM forecasted at the beginning of autumn that due to the problematic quality of plums of the most widespread variety in the country “Stanley”, most of them would be exported from the orchard, bypassing fruit storage facilities.

Thus, it was suggested that significantly less plums will be stored than in the previous several years (about 30-40 thousand tons). This forecast partly came true. Nevertheless, according to FARM experts, at least 8-10 thousand tons of commercial plums are kept in the storage facilities of agricultural enterprises and traders at the end of October. This volume is sufficient to form large export batches until around mid-November.

A significant part of this volume falls on plums of late varieties “President”, “Elongated”, “Angelino” and others. In difficult weather conditions this year, the fruits of these varieties are mostly large. In addition, unlike the Stanley plum, the late-ripening plum varieties managed to accumulate a relatively high sugar content.

At the end of October, the wholesale price for high-quality plums of late varieties for export on the Moldovan market reaches 13-14 MDL/kg ($0.74-0.80/kg). At the same time, export-grade Stanley plums have been purchased since the middle of this month at no more than 11 MDL/kg ($0.63/kg). Farmers say this is a good price, although the average export price was slightly higher in October last year, especially in dollar terms – 12 MDL/kg ($0.70/kg).

Сообщение The season of peak exports of Moldovan plums will end no earlier than mid-November 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.

According to EastFruit analysts, most of the largest plum growers in Eastern Europe are now selling their products cheaper than last year. However, it does not mean that all growers are dissatisfied with prices. Moreover, the market situation differs in each country. For instance, the plum season in Ukraine is the worst growers had in recent years, but for other countries it is one of the best.

Given the challenging weather in the key EU plum-producing countries in the spring of 2020, as well as the record high prices in 2020, market participants hoped that prices in 2021 would not be lower than last year. However, only in Russia the average wholesale price for plums today roughly corresponds to last year’s level, while in Moldova, Poland and Ukraine, prices are lower than in 2021.

The most notable decrease of wholesale prices for plums, more than one and a half times, was in Ukraine. Last year, the price was higher, as a large part of the harvest was lost due to frosts. The areas planted with plums in Ukraine tended to expand, since plums are in good demand in the European Union. Thus, in 2021 the plum harvest in Ukraine has grown sharply and prices have fallen.

In Ukraine, plum prices are now at their record lows, despite a slight increase in the last couple of weeks. Two weeks earlier, they dropped to $ 0.22 per kg, and now they are at about $ 0.26 per kg. These are the lowest plum prices in the past four years.

For Ukrainian growers, unlike Moldovan ones, plums are still an additional niche business line. Therefore, cultivation and processing technologies, long-term storage, not to mention trade contacts and exports experience in Ukraine are not as well developed as in Moldova. Hence, given production growth, there is a considerable decrease in prices compared to previous years.

By the way, now plums can be bought in Ukraine much cheaper than in Moldova. However, there is no growth in demand from importers, since Ukrainian suppliers are inactive in promoting their product in the EU countries.

The situation in Moldova is much better than in Ukraine. Here, both exports and processing are better developed. Therefore, it was only last week that plum prices in Moldova became lower than last year for the first time. Prior to that, growers were very satisfied with the price level, since it really exceeded that in 2021. However, for two weeks in a row, prices have been falling rapidly, although seasonal price increases normally start at this time. There are three reasons for this. Firstly, the plum harvesting season in 2021 was delayed by a couple of weeks, so the supply peaked in mid-September, not at the beginning of the month. Secondly, the plum harvest in Moldova, obviously, will not be lower than last year, as expected, and possibly even higher. Third, there are quality issues due to rains, leading to the sale of a large part of the harvest for processing. The prices of processors are relatively high, so growers do not mind saving on storage costs and selling plums of poor quality right away.

It should be reminded that Moldova is the largest exporter of plums in Eastern Europe, selling 45-50 thousand tons for export annually. Moreover, it is one of the five largest world exporters of fresh plums and has been actively developing exports to the EU countries in recent years.

In Poland, price developments are similar to what we see in Moldova. Generally, growers are satisfied with prices and only last week they fell below the level of 2020. At the same time, the absolute price level is one and a half times higher than in Moldova and two times higher than in Ukraine. By the way, Poland exports 6-8 times less plums than Moldova – about 6 thousand tons per year.

Ukraine exports on average about 300 tons of plums, and only in 2017, when a lot of favorable factors coincided, it managed to export more than 8 thousand tons. However, this suggests that Ukraine has a considerable unrealized potential for exporting fresh plums, as well as growing them for further processing. In addition, as the experience of Moldova shows, plums can be well stored until the New Year holidays and even longer. Since Ukraine has a large domestic sales market, keeping plums for long-term storage with subsequent sale out of season can bring good profit to growers.

On the contrary, Russia is the world’s largest importer of plums, purchasing up to 80 thousand tons annually, mainly from Moldova, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Also, Georgia, Iran and Azerbaijan have been increasing the supply of plums to Russia in recent years. Serbia, instead, is reducing the export of plums to the Russian Federation.

Plum prices for exporting to Russia are usually the highest in the region. However, this is natural for the world’s largest importing country. Plum prices in Russia were lower than usual, so growers are unlikely to consider this season as a good one. However, plums in Russia are a lucrative business given the relatively high price level.

It should be noted that the local production of plums is growing. It means that each season will bring price equation with other countries and a decrease in the profitability of supplies to the Russian market for Moldova, at least during harvesting and sale of plums in Russia.

Сообщение An overview of the plum market in Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, and Russia появились сначала на EastFruit.

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.

Сообщение Plums are sold for processing in Moldova due to quality issues появились сначала на EastFruit.

Judging by the monitoring of EastFruit , from the end of the first decade of August 2021 to the end of the month, wholesale prices for plums in Moldova have decreased weekly by 2-3 MDL/kg, reaching 7 MDL/kg ($ 0.39 per kg) on ​​average. It is worth considering that this year prices for plums started from a higher level – 11-14 MDL /kg ($ 0.62-0.79 per kg) than last year – 8-12 MDL/kg ($ 0.47- 0.70 per kg). And at the end of this month, despite the downtrend, they remained at a level slightly higher than last year at the same time (6 MDL/ kg, $ 0.35 per kg). Moreover, the price forecast for the beginning of September, according to growers and traders is positive.

Participants in the country’s fruit market note that the decline in prices for plums since the beginning of the season occurred synchronously with the change in the varietal composition. Thus, the  early plum variety “Chachakskaya”, intended for both domestic and foreign markets, was in great demand among buyers and was sold at a higher price. The average level of wholesale prices began to decline when the early plum variety “Kabardinskaya” began to prevail in the structure of the offer. Plum of this variety, in principle, has always been the cheapest on the Moldovan market. In addition, this year its harvest was relatively high, but the quality (size) of the fruit was predominantly of an average level.

Taking into account the latter circumstance, Moldovan growers, faced with tough competition from local suppliers of plums on the Russian market, “accepted the challenge” – they decided to lower wholesale prices. At the same time, in the domestic market of Moldova itself, according to growers, they sold large quantities of plums of the “Kabardinskaya” early variety to canning enterprises – for processing into paste. Purchase prices for processing grade plums for this product were in the range of 2.8-3.4 MDL/kg ($ 0.16 per 0.19 per kg), which, in their opinion, is a good level for the fruits of the mentioned variety and quality. It should be mentioned that at about the same prices, a significant amount of Moldovan plums was sent to neighboring Romania for processing into the Romanian traditional spirit (Tuica/Palinca).

In the coming days, harvesting of plums of the “Chachakskaya” variety will begin in Moldova. According to growers, the fruits of this variety will be in high demand among dried fruit producers; they have already announced the price – at least 4 MDL/kg ($ 0.23 per kg).

In about one week, Moldovan growers will begin the peak harvest of plums of the main export variety “Stanley”. The situation is curious because this year the harvesting of this variety of plums in Moldova will start later than in the southern regions of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, supplies of Moldovan plums “Stanley” to the Russian market will begin not from cold cellars – as usual in the last two or three years, but directly from the orchard. At the same time, at that moment, the “first wave” of supplies to the Russian market of its own Stanley plums will subside and the level of competition between Russian and imported plums will decrease.

Large Moldovan growers are planning to store the plums, mainly with an eye to sales in Romania and some other EU countries.

Сообщение Moldovan plum growers forecast an increase in prices from early September появились сначала на EastFruit.

Plum sales have already started in Georgia. The main season begins at the end of August.

In the current season, plum trees were partly damaged by spring frosts in the Shida Kartli region, but it is expected that production volume will not drop sharply. Consequently, growersdon’t expect higher prices than the previous year, unless demand for export increases.

Plum is not the first choice for commercial growers in Georgia, usually, they plant it in small areas, choosing other fruits for the main production. Popular varieties of plums are Stanley, President, and Empress but Stanley is the most widespread. Farmers frequently complain about low prices on variety Stanley which is the reason why they don’t want further investment in plum production. But there are those who count on its production.

Tiriphoni Gardens is among those companies that have planted plums on a small portion of the orchard. The company owns a 37 ha fruit orchard in the Shida Kartli region and only 6 ha of plum. Co-founder of the company Zurab Gojiashvili explains that, in 2018, motivation to plant the plum was relatively high prices in 2016-2017 and lower planting costs. For comparison, they could have planted 1 ha of an intensive apple orchard with the budget for a 6 ha plum orchard. But today, they are less interested in the plum business. The reason is the small scale due to the absence of large producers on the market, which makes plum less interesting for export and, on the other hand, the oversupplied local market. Last year the company has sold its harvest for 0.3 GEL/kg ($0.1) and has no better expectations for this year.

However, there are producers with a more positive outlook. Roman Chkhenkeli owns a 5 ha plum orchard in the Kakheti region. He has several varieties of plums, including European and Japanese. Plums ripen earlier in the Kakheti region than in other regions of Georgia. Chkhenkeli has already sold Japanese varieties and now has started harvesting Stanley, President, and Empress. According to Chkhenkeli, this year plum might become demanded on the Russian market, he already got offers from exporters. He thinks that export prices will be higher on high-quality plums this year.

Besides those who count on export opportunities this year, there are growers who found a way to produce a high-value product from relatively cheap plums. Shota Beridze’s family owns 20 ha orchards in the Shida Kartli region, plum is not the main product for this orchard, but the owner takes its production seriously. In 2015 when the orchard was planted, they were planning to sell plums as fresh fruit, but after the first harvest, they realized that the price of fresh plums was low and it was not profitable to sell them this way. As a result, Beridze started producing distilled alcoholic beverage, plum infusion, in 2020. Beridze explains that until now there was not available high-quality, locally produced, branded plum vodka on the market and they saw this opportunity. He thinks that the product has the potential to become popular locally and in export markets.

As we mentioned above, the main variety of plum produced in Georgia is Stanley, which is used in dry fruit production. Every year a significant amount from the Stanley harvest is purchased by processing companies, because of that, they are one of the price determinants on the market on plums. Anano Bejanishvili, the representative of dry fruit producing company Kareli Fruits  commented on the upcoming season in conversation with EastFruit.

“Company plans to start buying plum at the end of August. Based on information from growers, we expect that this year the harvest will be less, but the quality will be higher, as with less harvest the average size of the fruit increases. As we produce dry fruit the size and quality of the product are important. The company buys only premium quality plums from the growers. Last year the average price per kg premium quality plum, variety Stanley, was 0.4-0.45 GEL ($0.13-$0.15). They expect that prices will not increase this year as supply will still be higher than the demand from processors. The company plans to purchase over 300-400 tons of plums this year compared to 170-200 tons last year,” said Bejanishvili.

According to EastFruit price monitoring results, last week’s plum prices varied between 0.8 GEL ($0.26) to 2.5 GEL ($0.8). Prices are expected to fall at the beginning of September.

Сообщение Plum – cheap product or an opportunity for Georgian growers? появились сначала на EastFruit.