EU doubles import quotas on Moldovan agro products
According to the statement, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Ciolos made the announcement Monday in a telephone conversation with Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca.
The EU decided to double the quotas on the duty-free imports negotiated within the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with the EU, the statement said.
The quota on apples will be raised from 40,000 to 80,000 tonnes, on plums from 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes, while on grapes from 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes, said the European official.
It was agreed that the DCFTA will be implemented from Sept. 1, not from Oct. 1, as decided initially. Yet, given the latest developments, the Moldovan producers will be allowed to export within these quotas starting with Aug. 1. Even if the decision is formalized by the European Commission in September.
In the middle of July, Russia banned the import of fresh and canned fruit from Moldova, stressing that they will also more attentively monitor the quality of the Moldovan vegetables.
A group of farmers from northern Moldova on Monday threatened to stage mass protests, if the authorities do not provide solutions to their problems in seven days.
According to the farmers, the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU at the end of June created a number of problems to them given that Russia closed its market for Moldovan agricultural products.
The farmers said the fruit and vegetables are decaying on the trees and in containers as they cannot export them.
Besides denouncing the Association Agreement with the EU, the farmers also demand that the government should purchase their fresh and canned fruit and vegetables, which they can no longer export to Russia, so as to compensate them for their losses, and then should identify new export markets for them.
Source: www.shanghaidaily.com
