Market operators believe the price could have been higher if vegetable growers had grown Nantes variety carrots and had sufficient washing, polishing and storage facilities.
Due to the early and rather cool start of fall, the carrot crop this year, according to vegetable growers, was not very large. But the demand of the Moldovan domestic market for this product, as traders claim, is also relatively small from August to October in the country.
Besides, two circumstances relieved the market tension from the influx of products during and shortly after their harvesting. The first was the opportunity to temporarily place carrots in “apple warehouses,” which were half-empty at the time due to a small crop and modest storage of apples. The second was the demand for relatively inexpensive Moldovan carrots from Romanian buyers.
However, inexpensive carrots is a relative concept. According to EastFruit price monitoring data, the wholesale price for this root crop in Moldova (on average about 0.41 Euro/kg) is much higher than in Ukraine and Poland (0.21 Euro/kg and 0.23 Euro/kg, respectively).
Expert Agroteh specialist Serghei Alba believes that Moldovan carrots are still competitive compared to Ukrainian carrots only due to slightly shorter and cheaper (in some cases) logistics. It should be taken into account that both Moldovan and Ukrainian vegetable growers grow mainly conical carrots of the Shantane variety. It is less popular among European consumers compared to Nantes type carrots – cylindrical shape resembling a hot dog.
Whoever of Moldovan and Ukrainian vegetable growers reorients to the production of Nantes carrots faster will gain a decisive advantage in the European market.
According to the estimation of seed suppliers, carrot crops for the crop-2025 in Moldova amounted to no more than 1.5-2 thousand hectares.
