During the energy crisis of 2022, when the price of gas for industrial consumers increased to about 28-30 lei per cubic meter, the tariffs for grain drying in elevator enterprises also increased – up to 90-120 lei per ton. The situation was economically justified, as energy costs are the basis for pricing this service.
However, today, as experts of farmers’ organizations note, gas prices have stabilized in the range of 13-14 lei per cubic meter. Accordingly, there are grounds for significant – by tens of percent – adjustment of tariffs for grain processing. However, in the current marketing year, tariffs for drying, if they were reduced by some elevator enterprises, then not significantly.
Operators of the grain market of Moldova note that elevators, in addition to the costs of energy resources, certainly have other fixed costs of production, administrative and financial plan. However, they point to the fact that in the 2025/26 season, due to weather specifics, most of the grain (especially corn) is characterized by high humidity. This problem is relevant not only for Moldova, but also for other countries in the region.
Consequently, more or less acceptable tariffs for grain drying are a matter of more or less competitiveness of grain on foreign markets.
