Ludmila Katlabuga, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, argued the decision as follows: “The current legal framework no longer allows the continuation of this restriction. According to the legislation, the grain import licensing regime no longer needs to be extended. Therefore, we are moving to the normal regime”.
The head of the agency specified that the previously established term of grain import restriction expires on December 31 this year.
At the same time, Katlabuga noted that the authorities will continue to apply a strengthened mechanism of monitoring the grain market to be able to promptly intervene in case of serious imbalances. “We will closely monitor the situation to prevent market disruptions,” she emphasized.
The Minister also said that during the licensing regime, a special commission under the Ministry of Agriculture issued 25 licenses to import various types of grain crops.
Moldova introduced the licensing of grain imports from Ukraine in October 2023 and prolonged this mechanism several times. The permit system was aimed at protecting Moldovan farmers and the domestic market from cheaper Ukrainian grain and was introduced amid protests by domestic agrarians.
