Attending the event, MAIA Head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry Ludmila Katlabuga noted that the sector’s development depends on modernizing plantations, increasing the added value of nut production and taking advantage of the benefits provided by access to technologies and higher yielding varieties of European and American selection.
“The walnut sector continues to be strategically important for the country’s agricultural economy. Moldova exports walnuts worth more than 40 million dollars annually, and value-added products, especially peeled walnuts, represent the segment with the greatest development potential,” said MAIA Minister.
Ludmila Catlabuga “reiterated the government’s commitment to support the development of Moldova’s walnut sector through the instruments envisaged in the Strategic Program of Agricultural Policy for 2026-2030( LPnote, thePSPA program has not yet been approved, is in draft status). The PSPA program includes investments in plantations, post-harvest infrastructure, irrigation, certification and access to finance.
PSPA support is expected to be provided through a competitive project selection process. The maximum level of subsidy “per project” will tentatively amount to about MDL 7 million.
According to Oleg Tirsine, ANRM Director, the Republic of Moldova annually produces about 23 thousand tons of walnuts (by weight of fruits in hard shell), the area of plantations (of different types) of walnut crops in the country is about 18 thousand hectares.
In the last few years, the dynamics of the sector’s production performance has been unstable for climatic and commercial reasons. Nevertheless, Moldova remains one of the world leaders in walnut trade, ranking at the end of the first – beginning of the second ten largest exporters of walnuts to the global market. In terms of value, external shipments of walnuts last season amounted to more than $41 million.
About 86% of Moldovan exports of walnuts fall on the European market. In particular, the Republic of Moldova is among the five largest suppliers of walnuts to the European Union (the main buyers are Germany, France, Romania, the Netherlands, Italy).
The ANRM Walnut Producers Association currently has 129 active members and cooperates with more than 350 Moldovan walnut producers.
