In the period from July 2025 to January 2026, inclusive, exports of the five main cereals and oilseeds of the Republic of Moldova – wheat, rape, barley, sunflower and corn – reached a total volume of 1.71 million tons.
“The structure of transport routes emphasizes the trend consolidated in recent years: maritime transport dominates exports and remains the main logistical axis of foreign trade in cereals,” said Iurie Rija, an expert in agro-marketing. – In the current season, more than 0.78 million tons of Moldovan grain and oilseeds were shipped by sea. Since 2023, maritime transport has become the basis of logistics for Moldovan agricultural exports, displacing road transport, which previously dominated trade flows. The strengthening of maritime transport reflects both the cost-effectiveness of large shipments delivered by heavy-duty vessels and the adaptation of exporters to regional port infrastructure, including the active use of the port in Giurgiulesti and maritime links to Black Sea ports. Maritime transportation is preferred for large consignments, forward contracts and deliveries to more distant markets”.
Road transport and railroads regain ground
However, road transport remains an important pillar of Moldova’s agri-food exports. Thus, during the analyzed period more than 0.6 million tons of grain and oilseed agricultural products were shipped abroad by road. Road transport remains the best option for “quick orders”, delivery of goods, especially in small batches, to neighboring countries.
The new trend for the 2025-26 season is the return of railroad transportation to the structure of cargo transportation. – is the return of railroad transportation to the structure of Moldovan export logistics.
In the period July 2025-January 2026, almost 0.33 million tons of grain (19% of the commodity flow) were exported by rail. This is a notable increase compared to the 2024 level (11%).
Moreover, in the current season we can talk about the return of rail transport in the sphere of agricultural exports, directly competing with road transport.
Tariff incentives
As previously reported by Logos Press, a positive signal for the market came on February 5 of this year, when the Association of Agrocereale Exporters received a notice from the railway operator about the reduction of tariffs for railway transportation by an average of 4-5%.
This adjustment creates prerequisites for further increase in the share of rail transportation in agri-food exports.
The structure of railroad transportation is dominated by grain group (wheat, barley, corn) and, to a lesser extent, rapeseed. Sunflower is not yet present in the railroad transportation structure this season.
