News about Agribusiness

Experts agree that the Iranian crisis will significantly affect food prices in Europe. They will increase due to disruptions in fertilizer and energy supplies, as well as rising delivery costs and demand for biofuels.

Exactly 20 years ago, Russia first imposed an embargo on Moldovan wines. Direct losses of winemakers are estimated at $300 to $500 million.

The new trade deal between the EU and Australia has sparked a negative reaction from farmers and MEPs who say it will open the door to additional imports of sensitive products on top of those already agreed under the Mercosur agreement

The share of the Gulf countries in the global grain trade is small – only about 4-6% from season to season. According to Argus Analytics experts, in this regard, there is no reason to expect that the conflict in the region will have a direct impact on global grain supply and prices.

The state of table grape plantations after overwintering is assessed by experts of the Moldovan winegrowing industry as “satisfactory, but not brilliant”.

We are talking about the so-called “foodbanking” – a system that allows agri-food business entities to accumulate, sort, form into food packages and give them to Ukrainians in need.

Almost 1.5 thousand Moldovan farmers received agro-technological and financial assistance under the project “Emergency support for response to extreme drought conditions through sorghum promotion and animal feed distribution”. The project was implemented in the Republic of Moldova by the United Nations Organization for Agriculture (FAO) in partnership with the Government of Japan.

The European potato market is facing a significant excess of supply over demand, forcing farmers to pay extra to dispose of the produce.

Ludmila Catlabuga, head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry of MAIA, discussed the support of reforms in the agro-food sector and the implementation of international standards in the wine sector with the Ambassador of the French Republic Dominique Waag and Maxim Lebovici, director of the French Development Agency (AFD) representative office in Moldova.

Barley in Moldova is one of the most stable crops of the grain group in recent seasons. Its export volumes are moderately progressive, prices are growing. Not a typical, but striking fact: in the 2025/26 season, the average price of barley exceeded the average price of wheat. Nevertheless, the area of barley planted for the 2026 harvest in the country, according to experts of the Ministry of Agriculture, has not increased for a number of reasons.

Fendt Chairman of the Board of Management Christoph Groblinghoff predicts that the agricultural machinery market will only resume growth from 2027. At the same time, he warns of increased competition from Chinese agricultural machine manufacturers.

During the past week, May cane sugar futures (#11) on the New York exchange rose 7% to $15.86/lb or $350/t (+8.8% for the month). This is the maximum for the last seven months. White sugar (#5) at the exchange in London added 8.7% to $462.5/t (+13% for the month). In general, according to the estimates of experts of analytical agencies, in March world sugar prices increased by 9-13%. Before that, in February, they fell to a five-year low.

The needs and opportunities for the development of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) for farmers in the Republic of Moldova were identified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry (MAIA) and the Center for Agricultural Consultants (CCAR) during a joint meeting with development partners – representatives of the PL Solidarity Fund in Moldova and the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in the Republic of Moldova.

As a result of face-to-face inspections carried out by inspectors of the National Agency for Food Safety (ANSA) at the border points of the Republic of Moldova, a consignment of 10.5 tons of poor-quality imported dried fruit mixture (apples, apricots, plums, cherries) was detected.

Specifying the country of origin of goods may increase sales of local producers up to 15% in the fresh produce segment. Such a draft was discussed on Wednesday, March 25, in the parliamentary commission for economy, budget and finance.

Russia suspended ammonium nitrate exports for a month. Exports will resume on April 21. The ministry explained this by the priority of providing fertilizers to Russian farmers during spring field work. The exception will be deliveries under intergovernmental agreements.

The March report of the International Grains Council (IGC) forecasts a 1.3% decline in global corn production in the 2026/27 marketing season to 1.303 billion tons. At the same time, global consumption of this grain will increase and is likely to exceed production. The final stocks of corn grain will decrease significantly.

Forța Fermierilor, an association of grain and oilseed producers, will fight for the sector of these products, which are grown annually on about 85% of Moldova’s total land area, to be included in the Strategic Program of Agrarian Policy (PSPA). This document should also contain an EU directive to reimburse agrarians for excise duties on diesel fuel on a permanent basis.

Problems with the quality of Argentine sunflower imported to the Black Sea countries this spring are changing the balance on the market of the region in a paradoxical way. On the one hand, there is nominally more raw material. On the other hand, the actual supply of sunflower suitable for processing into food and fodder has not increased in the regional market. Obviously, such a contradiction between expectation and reality in the very near future will be reflected in the regional sunflower prices.

Trade in wheat of the new harvest has revived on the Ukrainian market. Some farmers and agricultural holdings have started to enter into forward contracts more actively, using current grain prices to fix future sales. At the same time, forward market prices are already higher than spot market prices, which is uncommon.