According EastFruit, the grape industry expects a Moldova report to say that many large growers are not in a hurry to sell their table grapes. They estimate that that the large farmers of Moldova had sold no more than 20-30% of their table grapes harvest as of today. This is not at all surprising, considering the market price trends.
Currently, table grapes in Moldova are 65% more expensive than a year ago at the same time and at least 45% more expensive than is usual.
Therefore, it is becoming clear that Moldova will have much higher stocks of table grapes going into winter than earlier expectations and will try to capitalize on positive market price trends. It is quite possible that in January-April 2024 Moldova will export approximately the same volume of grapes as during the same period in the previous two seasons – 20-24 thousand tons while earlier exports were expected to be much lower.
In the current marketing year, exports of table grapes have already amounted to about 55 thousand tons. In November around 25 thousand tons of fresh grapes were sold and in October – 22 thousand tons. At the beginning of December, the high pace of exported grapes from Moldova continued, supported by high demand in the European market and an unprecedented high price level. It is likely that the volume of December exports will be higher than last year as well. It is also clear now that exports of grapes from Moldova in the current season will be much higher than a year ago.
Nevertheless, it should be remembered that Russia has recently imposed a ban on exports of fruits and vegetables from Moldova. Moreover, high demand for Moldova’s grapes in the EU, as well as full and unrestricted duty-free access to this market next year is not guaranteed for growers of this country. Therefore, longer-term prospects remain unclear.
For more information: east-fruit.com