The Moldovan cherry season is about to takeoff. Although the country had to deal with some spring frosts, the produce was nowhere near lost. For one exporter, this year will hopefully bring in new European clients, on top of his existing clientele in Russia and Belarus.
According to Adrian Cojocaru, head of marketing for MoldovaFruct, the cherries did not suffer too much from the spring frosts that hit the country: “The fresh produce in Moldova has had it rough, as there were some spring frosts, causing a lot of crops to go lost. Luckily the impact on the cherries was not as severe as we initially thought, in fact we expect the cherries will be larger this season. Generally our country produces over 15 thousand tons of cherries, but this year, we expect to harvest about ten per cent less. Nevertheless, we will still have important quantities for export, as the members of our association only, export over two thousand tons of cherries annually.”
With covid-19 in the world, this season was obviously completely different in terms of doing business. Cojocaru would’ve liked to meet his clients in person. “The coronavirus had an impact on the business surely, both positive and negative. We expect to obtain multiple new clients in Europe this year, but at the same time we would have loved to visit our existing partners in Germany in person. Our most important markets are Russia and Belarus, we export about 90 per cent of our total export to these territories. However we’re focusing on reaching some European markets, like Italy and France.”
Moldova does not really have to compete with other cherry producing countries, as their markets are less targeted. “Turkey has a massive cherry industry, but we don’t really see them as a competitor. They target different markets than we do, and on top of that the demand is large is enough for everyone to co-exist. That doesn’t mean we don’t strive to improve. We want to reveal our new packaging within a month and have been working hard on updating our association’s website.” Cojocaru explains.
Iurie Fala, executive director of Moldova Fruct, explains the reason behind giving their website a big upgrade: “The website was developed in the context of adapting the Moldova Fruct identity and its trademark ‘Moldova – taste makes the difference’ to the modern trends in the sector. It is targeted to those international buyers that are looking for new opportunities, one of them being the exceptional taste of Moldovan fruits.”
The new website comes with several features to make is more convenient for the user, Fala says. “Our new web platform allows more user friendly filtering of the products and services offered by Moldova Fruct members, thus facilitating the buyers' access to their potential suppliers. The site will serve the association to virtually present to buyers around the world a growing range of high-quality fruits, of different varieties, produced with care and responsibility by the Moldova Fruct members.”
“Our new website will complement the efforts of fruit promotion in international exhibitions and in trade missions. It is especially important during this period with travel limitations, when a website can even replace these events.” Fala concluded.
For more information:
Mr. Adrian Cojocaru
Moldova Fruct
Tel: +373 69140614
Email: acojocaru@moldovafruct.md
www.moldovafruct.md/en