The process of getting these farms certified under the Global G.A.P. international food safety system took the better part of 2025. With the assistance of the Moldova Fruct Association and the Swiss organization Helvetas, nine winegrowing farms in the south of Moldova were united into two groups, which were provided with technical assistance and advice from Andrei Cumpanici, an expert in food safety systems management. Thanks to this cooperation, the farmers managed to improve their knowledge, expand their production capacity, reduce costs and obtain homogeneous batches of table grapes that meet the quality and safety standards of EU supermarket chains.
“The international Global G.A.P. certification for small and medium-sized producers is a kind of ‘entrance ticket’ to EU commercial chains,” states Yuri Fale, executive director of the Modova Fruct Association. – The group consulting model implemented by our organization with the support of Helvetas clearly confirms the fact that even small-scale farmers can switch to European standards by working together, receiving advice and having access to information about EU market requirements. Using this model of cooperation, producers are able to ensure uniform product quality, stable supply volumes and, as a result, become reliable partners for European merchants. This is an important moment for Moldova’s table grape growing sector and a necessary step towards strengthening export chains.”
“We are committed to helping Moldovan grape producers make a conscious step towards high-value markets, where the quality and traceability of food products and their compliance with international standards are paramount to commercial success. We congratulate the nine Moldovan farmers for the fact that their efforts, discipline, openness to rethinking production processes and willingness to invest in quality have achieved the expected result – competitive exports to the European market,” said Bojan Colungia, Director of Helvetas Moldova, at the ceremony of awarding the certificates.
“To get the Global G.A.P. certificate alone for a small agricultural producer is quite difficult, but in a group it becomes real. For us, certification means a change in mentality that includes production hygiene, traceability at all stages, responsibility to the consumer – factors that allow us to export directly to Germany, Poland or Romania under reliable contracts and without intermediaries. We want to increase the quantity and quality of production, to remain competitive and to show that modern agriculture can develop also in our villages”, assures Cristina Marchenko, table grape producer, Baurci Moldoveni, Cahul.
According to the data published on the database.globalgap.org platform, there are currently 36 small and medium table grape producers in Moldova certified by Global G.A.P..
