Economy of Moldova
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova launches for the first time the “Best Wineries 2026” competition to recognize and promote excellence in the national wine sector.
The top 10 retailers of Moldovan trade were presented during the “FMCG & Retail Channels Conference”, organized annually by Romanian Modern Buyer, Logos Press reported.
The National Energy Regulatory Agency (NERA) has set new maximum fuel prices that will be in effect tomorrow, March 24.
China is the world’s largest exporter of goods and plays a central role in supply chains for many countries. Nevertheless, Moldova is not critically dependent on imports of Chinese products.
The price increase for oil products in March has already had a double impact on the Moldovan economy. For the population, farmers and transporters, it means higher costs, additional pressure and the risk of higher prices along the entire supply chain. For the state budget, the same crisis means additional revenues from VAT and other taxes applied to the higher fuel price.
The attacks on Iran increased the wholesale price of flour-grade wheat from the Black Sea region by about $6/t.
Moldova ranked 101st in the Index of Economic Freedom 2026 out of 184 states. This rating has been compiled for 32 years by the American research center The Heritage Foundation. It is determined on the basis of 12 quantitative and qualitative indicators organized in 4 main groups.
The National Bank of Moldova (NBM) is introducing a national Open Banking standard, obliging 15 payment service providers to implement secure API interfaces. This allows users to securely manage accounts with different banks through a single application, which is in line with the European Directive.
In February 2026, the Moldovan grain market saw an increase in wheat export supplies. Last month, compared to the previous month, the volume of external wheat supplies almost doubled – from 40.4 thousand tons to 72.2 thousand tons. Apparently, farmers sold off their stocks to replenish working capital on the eve of the spring field work campaign.
Modernization of public services, cloud infrastructure development, security and digital sovereignty were key topics of discussion during a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization Eugeniu Osmochescu and the leadership of technology giants Amazon Web Services, IBM and Widelity Inc. Washington. They also discussed the use of new technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, to improve governance and economic efficiency.
In the period from July 2025 to February 2026 inclusive, the Republic of Moldova exported 66.8 thousand tons of sunflower oil, which is almost six times higher than the extremely low volume of the previous season (only 11.65 thousand tons). In the current season, the processing of products inside the country resumed.
With the beginning of spring agricultural works, the National Center for Research and Seed Production (CNCPS) will intensify its activities in production and research areas. This year, the institution will allocate about 2.6 thousand hectares of agricultural land for commercial cultivation of spring crop seeds and experimental demonstration plots.
In January-February 2026, Moldova sent more than 17 thousand tons of grapes to foreign markets. Its exports continue in March, but the purchase prices of winegrowers are discouraging.
Employees of the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova, led by prosecutors of the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), seized more than 130 smuggled cars, most of which came from the European Union.
Moldova may abolish import customs duties on more than 90% of goods from the USA, keeping them on some sensitive groups (meat, milk and products from them, as well as sugar, sucrose, fructose, etc.). A corresponding parliamentary initiative has been registered in Parliament.
Russian law enforcement authorities have uncovered a large-scale fraudulent scheme for illegal VAT refunds used when importing Moldovan apples into the Russian Federation.
The global food market was highly vulnerable to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one third of the world’s urea exports pass. Military action in the Middle East has threatened global food security by paralyzing the production and export of critical fertilizers.
Between March 9 and March 15, 2026, several new outbreaks of dangerous animal diseases – rabies and African swine fever – were detected in the Republic of Moldova.
Forța Fermierilor, an association of producers and processors of grain and oilseeds, strongly disagrees with the model of financial assistance to farmers in connection with the rise in the price of diesel fuel envisaged in the draft government decree.
The business cooperative Agrostoc held its annual report and election meeting. The members of the cooperative re-elected Ion Tulej (head of Farm Prod) as chairman of the Agrostoc Administrative Board for one year. The administrative board renewed the contract of the current chairman of the executive office of the cooperative Igor Tagadiuk for four years. The cooperative’s short-term strategy is cautious but progressive development.
