Forța Fermierilor Urges Probe into Moldova’s Grain Market as Prices Fall

Forța Fermierilor calls on the Competition Council to focus on the grain market

Wheat prices in Moldova did not rise in July; in fact, they even fell by 0.30–0.40 lei/kg over the past week. On the Moldovan market, wheat costs an average of 1.5 lei/kg less than at the port of Constanța. On this basis, the Association of Grain and Oilseed Producers is requesting that the Competition Council be convened.

Analysts agree that Moldova’s agri-food market includes sectors with a significantly higher concentration of business—to the point of outright monopolies. However, for farmers who are currently harvesting first-group crops and counting on “quick, big money” from their sales, the situation on the grain and oilseed market is the most urgent and pressing issue.

Especially since, as Logos Press reported, prices for new-crop grain and rapeseed on the Moldovan market have indeed begun to fall this week. There are a number of global reasons for this, but when has that ever stopped determined farmers?

There is certainly a reason:

Yesterday, following a meeting of the Forța Fermierilor administrative council, its members noted that over the past five months, the situation in Moldova’s grain and oilseed agribusiness sector has significantly deteriorated. Diesel fuel prices have risen by approximately 70%. Farmers continue to face an acute fuel shortage, which threatens summer and fall agricultural work. Similarly, the cost of fertilizers has risen by 35–40%. At the same time, market conditions for agricultural products are deteriorating.

“As a result, the 2026 harvest will not yield even a minimal profit for farmers. If the downward trend in agricultural prices in Ukraine continues, it is highly likely that our farmers will suffer from massive imports of grains and oilseeds from a neighboring country. At the same time, Romania has a licensing mechanism in place for imports from Ukraine. Consequently, there is a risk that exports of Moldovan products to the Romanian market could be suspended,” the association’s statement notes.

With this in mind, Forța Fermierilor is calling on the Moldovan authorities to resume licensing imports of grains and oilseeds (presumably from Ukraine, Logos Press note).

In other words, in the train of our shared European integration, Ukraine is still the locomotive, but it is better to move the grain cars to the EU market separately—it’s more reliable that way. However, this is hardly feasible in practice, given that Ukraine, Romania, and the Republic of Moldova—with the assistance of the European Commission—have agreed to accelerate the development of alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain via the Danube ports, against the backdrop of a temporary blockade of Ukrainian ports due to intensified Russian attacks.