Mircea Manoli
In an interview with a Logos Press correspondent, Mircea Manoli, executive director of “Speranța-Con,” noted that the issue of regulated access for food producers to relatively cheap imported sugar has remained a pressing concern for several years now. In his view, there are two ways to resolve this issue. The first is to reserve a specific (sufficient) portion of the preferential sugar import quotas provided for under the Republic of Moldova’s international agreements specifically for food producers. The second is to exempt certain types of raw materials (and for food industry operators, sugar is a raw material) from customs duties, as previously announced by former Minister of Economy Eugeniu Osmochescu.
Mircea Manoli also noted that the Moldovan authorities had relatively recently drafted a bill which, among other measures to normalize relations between local food producers and retailers, sets a maximum (20%) discount rate that suppliers may offer to supermarket chains—as a “price of admission” to store shelves.
Finally, according to the director of “Speranța-Con,” strict public oversight of funding is necessary, to be carried out through the PSPA. To this end, in his opinion, it would be advisable to form a committee of representatives from agri-food associations under the government.
