In the period from July 2025 to February 2026 inclusive, the Republic of Moldova exported 66.8 thousand tons of sunflower oil, which is almost six times higher than the extremely low volume of the previous season (only 11.65 thousand tons). In the current season, the processing of products inside the country resumed.
With the beginning of spring agricultural works, the National Center for Research and Seed Production (CNCPS) will intensify its activities in production and research areas. This year, the institution will allocate about 2.6 thousand hectares of agricultural land for commercial cultivation of spring crop seeds and experimental demonstration plots.
In January-February 2026, Moldova sent more than 17 thousand tons of grapes to foreign markets. Its exports continue in March, but the purchase prices of winegrowers are discouraging.
In the first two months of 2026 compared to the same period last year, Ukraine increased exports of rapeseed oil in value terms by 34 times – from $3 million to $102 million.
At the opening of the session, oil was trading around $110 per barrel. As of 5:55 Moscow time, the cost of May futures for Brent increased by 4.5% to $112.26 per barrel. In general, oil rose in price by about 11% during the week, and for the month the growth exceeded 50%.
On Wednesday, March 18, global oil prices showed a decline after the news of resumption of oil exports from Iraq’s Kirkuk fields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
Under the new regulations, local authorities will be obliged to identify ragweed-contaminated areas, map out ragweed hotspots and potential areas of spread, and coordinate with owners to eradicate this invasive plant. At the national level, public institutions in the fields of agriculture, environment and health will be responsible for informing and controlling ragweed control campaigns.
During the Soviet period, the Central Asian republics were stereotypically perceived as an arid region. But over the last 40 years, water availability per capita in the region has become even more scarce – it has decreased by more than three times.
Ukraine has agreed to EU technical and financial assistance to resume oil supplies through the Druzhba oil pipeline.
During an inspection at the Leuseni border crossing point, inspectors from the National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) found a very large (more than 9.3 tons) of imported peppers that did not comply with national regulations.
Robert Kiyosaki, author of the personal finance book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” has promised his subscribers online X a global economic crisis.
The global food market was highly vulnerable to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one third of the world’s urea exports pass. Military action in the Middle East has threatened global food security by paralyzing the production and export of critical fertilizers.
Between March 9 and March 15, 2026, several new outbreaks of dangerous animal diseases – rabies and African swine fever – were detected in the Republic of Moldova.
Slovakia’s state-owned company SEPS has officially notified Ukraine about the cessation of emergency electricity supplies.
Two publications, believed to be insiders, have reported the resumption of direct contacts between US President Steve Whitkoff’s special envoy and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in recent days. However, the latter denied this information.
Forța Fermierilor, an association of producers and processors of grain and oilseeds, strongly disagrees with the model of financial assistance to farmers in connection with the rise in the price of diesel fuel envisaged in the draft government decree.
The business cooperative Agrostoc held its annual report and election meeting. The members of the cooperative re-elected Ion Tulej (head of Farm Prod) as chairman of the Agrostoc Administrative Board for one year. The administrative board renewed the contract of the current chairman of the executive office of the cooperative Igor Tagadiuk for four years. The cooperative’s short-term strategy is cautious but progressive development.
Last week, the Agency for Interventions and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA) authorized a total of 24.4 million lei in subsidies to be paid to farmers. While most of the previous tranche of payments from the National Fund for Agriculture and Rural Development of RM was mainly aimed at paying off the arrears of post-investment subsidies for 2024, the current one is subsidies in advance and for insurance.
The Chinese government is responding to sulfur supply disruptions due to conflict in the Middle East and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. The move has sharply raised shipping costs and sulfur prices, posing serious risks to the production of phosphate fertilizer needed for China’s spring planting campaign. The country imports about 47% of its sulphur, mostly from the Persian Gulf, so any disruption to transportation routes has a direct impact on domestic fertilizer production.
Saudi Arabia has offered long-term buyers to receive April oil shipments through the port of Yanbu in the Red Sea. The country is preparing for possible prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
