According to customs data, between July 2024 and July 2025, Moldova imported just over 123 tons of beans, worth 2.4 million lei, and exported only 2.25 tons of the product, worth 43.8 thousand lei.
The highest import volume came in August last year, when 92.7 tons of beans were imported into the country, a third of a quarter of the annual import volume. Such a peak of import activity can be conditioned by seasonal factors related to the harvest period in exporting countries and the need to form strategic food reserves in RM. The second most significant import peak was recorded in January 2025 – about 24 tons. This is probably due to the replenishment of bean stocks by merchants at the beginning of the calendar year and preparation for the spring-summer consumer season.
Export transactions were made only in February of the current year. Concentration of transactions in one narrow time period testifies either to the ad hoc nature of external deliveries, or to extremely limited export opportunities of Moldovan bean producers.
Expert in agri-food marketing Iurie Rija notes an interesting detail – a significant difference between the prices of the main volumes of imported and exported beans. Thus, the average price of imported beans is 10.9 lei/kg, with a significant price range – 7.0-20.6 lei/kg, which is explained by the import of goods of different quality, in different packaging, from different suppliers (Ukraine, USA). From Moldova, beans were shipped to Romania, at a unitary price of 19.5 lei/kg. This may indicate a limited export assortment and supply of beans of one particular grade or quality category. The higher export price of Moldovan beans compared to the average price of imported beans indicates the potentially high quality of domestic products and competitiveness in foreign markets.
