This is the expert assessment of the management of the Association of producers and exporters of grapes from RM.
At the moment, the harvesting process of early (summer) varieties of table grapes is nearing its climax in the country. Despite the fact that it is the early varieties of table grapes that suffered from spring frosts, according to winegrowers, the harvest is good. Although the size of bunches harvested from classical plantations (on a vertical trellis) is often small. The assessment of the state of plantations and potential yield of table grapes of late varieties is also high. But in this case much will depend on weather conditions in the fall – during the harvesting period of late grapes.
The share of early-ripening grape varieties is relatively small – no more than 10% – in the structure of table grape growing in Moldova (the total area of all plantations is about 16 thousand hectares). However, a significant part of plantations of early grapes is concentrated in commercial vineyards oriented to export of products.
As of mid-August, Moldova exported almost 1 thousand tons of table grapes of the new harvest. Exports are carried out in all directions – both to the EU countries (Romania, Poland, Baltic States) and to the CIS, including Russia.
According to Gheorghe Gaber, the chairman of the mentioned association, the summer table grapes of the 2025 harvest are purchased by traders (mainly for export) at an average price of 30-35 lei/kg. For high quality (bunches weigh 2-3 kg and more) products of some varieties of some vineyards, producers offer up to 50 lei/kg. According to the expert, the prices for high-quality grapes of late (autumn) varieties in winter-spring, i.e. at the end of the marketing season, rarely or even never reach such a high level. At the same time, storing the products in refrigerated warehouses for several months adds at least 3-4 lei/kg to their cost price.
In other words, for a Moldovan winegrower, selling early grapes is potentially a more profitable marketing strategy than selling late grapes. And a balanced grape business should be based on the production of highly liquid varieties of both early and late ripening. Since, for example, the sale on the domestic market and abroad 50-60 thousand tons of table grapes of the main at the moment late variety “Moldova” is not a trivial task. Therefore, some winegrowers are forced to acquire a multi-component post-harvest infrastructure to store (as well as sort and repackage) grapes of a single dominant variety for several months. But grapes are not wine; storage does not add to their quality or value.
In winter-spring 2025, the country sent abroad 10.2 thousand tons of grapes from last year’s harvest, worth $8.45 million. In total, in the 2024 season Moldova exported 59.7 thousand tons of tablegrapes , worth$8.45 million. tons of table grapes for $67.1 mln. Including Romania bought 22.5 thousand tons of goods (for 29.2 mln), Poland – 6.9 thousand tons (9.9 mln), Ukraine – 5.5 thousand tons (3.1 mln), Netherlands – 1.8 thousand tons (2.9 mln). The average export price of Moldovan table grapes last season was $1.13/kg. The product was sold to Germany at $1.74/kg, the Netherlands – $1.64/kg, Romania – $1.3/kg. Moldova exported the largest amount of table grapes in the five-year period in 2023 – 84.5 thousand tons, worth $75.7 million.
