News about Economy of Moldova
The government approved two stricter regulations: new rules for the official control of residues of pharmacologically active substances in products of animal origin and requirements for the safety of fertilizers.
Moldagrotech Spring, the International specialized exhibition of agricultural machinery, equipment and technologies for the agrarian sector, will take place at the Moldexpo International Exhibition Center during March 11-14, 2026.
The agricultural sector and the population will incur higher costs due to a sharp increase in fuel prices without any clear explanation. This opinion was expressed during a program on national television.
Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu has reacted to the calls made by politicians and mayors to the government against the background of rising fuel prices. He characterized them as “panic and speculation”, which are used “not only at gas stations, but also in the public space”.
The March increase in prices for diesel fuel and nitrogen fertilizers may lead to an increase in production costs of agricultural producers by at least 20% during the period from spring field work (March-April) to the beginning of sowing winter crops for the future harvest (August-September).
Water inflow from the Carpathians to the Dniester reservoir decreased from 300 to 200 cubic meters per second. This occurs in a situation of rather high temperature conditions for the first half of March (up to plus 20 degrees Celsius during the day and above zero at night). The flow into the Moldovan part of the river (downstream of the Dniester HPP, Novodnestrovsk, Ukraine) is still the same – about 100 cubic meters per second.
At today’s meeting, the government decided to index the minimum guaranteed monthly income by 6.8%. The resolution will enter into force on April 1, 2026.
Freelancers’ income in February 2026 amounted to almost 12 million lei, while the amount of the calculated single tax amounted to 1.8 million lei. The increase in revenues exceeded the January figures by 567.84%.
Moldovan leu for the middle of March shows a slight strengthening against dollar and euro in comparison with the indicators of the beginning of the month. The average dollar purchase is about 17.05 MDL, sale – 17.50 MDL. On the international markets, the dollar index (DXY) shows a decrease, which automatically leads to the leu strengthening against the American currency.
In recent days, drivers from neighboring countries have started coming to Moldova to refuel, as the prices for gasoline and diesel fuel here are among the lowest in the region. This was reported by Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, who said that this situation should be thoroughly analyzed.
The Board of Directors of the National Energy Regulatory Agency (NERA) approved the regulated revenues associated with natural gas distribution services for 2026 and the uniform rates for natural gas distribution services in effect nationally at a public meeting on March 10, 2026.
The National Energy Regulatory Agency (NERA) has set fuel price caps for March 11, 2026.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on March 9 announced an 18-month ban on Denis Bejan, a Moldovan citizen, for fraudulent activities related to the “Reform Support Group” program in Moldova.
The blockage of the Gulf of Hormuz provoked a rise in the price of oil, gas and, along the chain, nitrogen fertilizers (by about 15-20% – depending on the geography of markets).
In February 2026, Moldova exported just over 11 thousand tons of apples. This is about 500 tons more than in the previous month. But 2 thousand tons less than in February of the previous year.
In 2025, 24.5% of the gross final electricity consumption of the Republic of Moldova was provided by renewable energy sources (RES). The increase in the share of electricity from RES was due to the growth in the number of RES electricity producers, as well as the dynamics of the total installed capacity at the country level.
More than 45 million lei was authorized for payment to farmers by the Agency for Interventions and Payments in Agriculture AIPA during the first working week of March.
The sugar market is not about “sweetness”, but about economy in its purest form: excess supply, rising costs and managerial mistakes are instantly converted into price. That is why there is always a lot of information noise around sugar – slogans “let’s provide the market with our own”, “the market needs protection”, “importers are enemies”. But the noise does not change the main thing: the market does not punish imports – the market punishes inefficiency. And today this is evident all over Europe.
The first week of March on the grain market of Moldova also brought increase of prices for wheat (plus 0,15-0,20 lei/kg) and corn (plus 0,10 lei/kg on average). The strengthening of prices corresponds to the dynamics of exchange prices for goods of this group in Europe, as well as in the European ports of the Black Sea countries. However, according to market operators, at the moment, the biggest influence on prices is the rise in the price of diesel fuel, i.e. transportation logistics, and a significant strengthening of the dollar against the euro and Moldovan leu.
International Women’s Day, traditionally celebrated by many countries of the world on March 8, this year is also a good occasion to remember that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has declared 2026 as the International Year of Women Farmers.
