Rapeseed and its processed products in Moldova are 100% export goods. It is important that in the current marketing season for the first time in a decade and a half Moldova exports not only raw material – rape seeds, but also rapeseed oil. The ratio is not in favor of the product with high added value. Thus, 192.5 thousand tons of rapeseed and 6.4 thousand tons of rapeseed oil were shipped from the country to foreign markets during the mentioned period. Nevertheless, even if at the end of the season 8-10% of the Moldovan rapeseed harvest will be exported in the form of oil and, possibly, meal – this fact can be considered a success.
|
Products |
Export volume, thousand tons | Export amount, billion lei |
Average price, lei/kg |
|
Rapeseed, seeds |
192,50 | 1,716 |
8,91 |
|
Rapeseed oil |
6,43 | 0,112 |
17,53 |
It is worth mentioning that this year, the largest oil and fat enterprise in Moldova, Floarea Soarelui SA (Balti), invested in a rapeseed processing line and resumed rapeseed oil production after a multi-year break. The management of the enterprise planned to purchase about 45 thousand tons of rapeseed by mid-September.
According to Iurie Rizhi, an expert in agro-marketing, by now about 30 thousand tons of rapeseed of crop-2025 remain uncontracted in the country. Some operators of the Moldovan market of oilseeds believe that the marketable residues are larger – up to 50 thousand tons.
At the same time, there are no objective data on rapeseed production in Moldova this year. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, this year rapeseed crops amounted to slightly less than 100 thousand hectares. Seed sellers, according to Iurie Rizhi’s calculations, sold enough seed material to sow rape about 120 thousand hectares this year. That is, it is possible that the actual area of rape sowing is larger than the statistical one. According to expert estimates, rapeseed yield in the country fluctuates within 1.5-3.5 tons/ha. Most likely, on average, it will exceed 2 tons/ha.
The purchase price for rapeseed during the summer months – the period of harvesting campaign and immediately after it – fluctuated within 8.4-8.8 lei/kg. Taking into account the relatively stable price for rape, with a moderately pronounced upward trend, some experts recommended farmers not to hurry to sell the crop. However, it seems that oilseed market operators are currently set for short production and commercial cycles: faster to sell-buy, faster to export or process. As a result, July-August 2025 summer rapeseed exports were the highest in four years.
|
Years (July-August) |
2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
2025 |
|
thousand tons |
37,67 | 171,04 | 49,01 |
192,50 |
The top 5 largest exporters of rapeseed from Moldova are: Rusagro-Prim SRL (28.4% of total physical exports), Vadalex-Grains SRL (14%), Orom-Imexpo SRL (13.8%), Agro-Nova Prim SRL (6.7%), CÎ Agrostoc (4.4%).
