Vasile Tofan
“There is a great deal of pressure to reinstate licensing. It was in effect for three years in a row. Yes, it’s true that other countries have also introduced licensing. That’s why the pressure is so great. At the same time, certain participants in the agri-food supply chain will not be pleased with such a decision. The flour milling industry won’t be happy, and the livestock sector won’t be happy either. No matter how you look at it, we’ll have to take someone’s side,” Tofan said after a meeting with farmers.
“Protecting wheat—hitting the mills”
The prime minister noted that any government decision in favor of one sector could have consequences for other industries. He acknowledged that the discussion had been difficult and that the decision to be made would also be challenging.
“I understand the farmers’ demands; as a person, I understand them. They want protection: they grow wheat, barley, rapeseed, and other crops; they want protection. If we protect wheat, we hurt the flour milling industry—and then we ask why we don’t have locally produced flour. We try to help, to protect the flour milling industry in some way—and we end up hurting the baking industry, and then people ask us why bread is so expensive. “Every decision the government makes has certain consequences—by taking one side, we affect the other,” said Vasile Tofan.
“It’s cheaper to feed their cows”
Tofan also explained that the cost of grain directly affects the competitiveness of livestock farming, citing milk imports from Ukraine as an example:
“Take wheat, for example. We complain that we import a lot of milk from Ukraine. Do we complain? Yes, we do. One of the reasons is that, let’s put it this way, wheat prices there are more competitive; it’s cheaper to feed their cows, and as a result, we’ve reached the point where we’re importing milk from Ukraine. I’m not taking sides here; I’m certainly not saying that our farmers don’t need to be protected. I’m simply saying that there are complex decisions in which the government must take a side. And our farmers have compelling arguments—yes, they’re struggling, the ports are blocked, the routes are blocked, and there are many problems.”
A possible decision to reinstate licensing will be discussed on Friday, August 21. According to Tofan, the government must assess the consequences of the decision for the entire supply chain—from grain producers to the flour milling and baking industries, as well as the livestock sector.
As a reminder, the “Farmers’ Power” Association is calling on the authorities to urgently reintroduce licensing for imports of grains and oilseeds from Ukraine. The association warns that the collapse in prices for Ukrainian agricultural products and the intention of a number of traders to import large volumes of wheat into the Republic of Moldova could trigger a new crisis in the agricultural market.
