News about Economy of Moldova
The state-owned enterprise Railways of Moldova resumed traffic on an important section of the Cahul-Giurgiulesti line, which provides access to a strategic port in southern Moldova. At the end of April, the company conducted test runs on the restored section near the village of Valeni.
The former Minister of Labor and Social Protection, MP Marcel Spatar draws attention to the high level of informal employment in agriculture in Moldova, which deprives workers of guarantees and social protection. He calls day laborers one of the most vulnerable categories of workers.
In less than two weeks, from last Friday to this moment, onions on the Ukrainian market rose in price by an average of 40-45%. Ukrainian farmers were able to increase selling prices for onions for the first time since the beginning of February this year. On the whole, a cardinal increase in prices for this vegetable in Ukraine has not been recorded since mid-May 2025.
Moldova has officially launched the Sub-Council for Artificial Intelligence and Applied Research (SCIA). The first meeting of this consultative structure took place on April 30, bringing together representatives of public authorities, academia, the private sector and relevant organizations in the field, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization (MDED) reported.
“We are working in brainstorming mode,” Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu said at the National Labor Market and Social Dialogue Forum, discussing the search for solutions to improve the efficiency of the country’s economy.
In the public authorities of the Republic of Moldova 135 internship places in ministries, agencies and other state institutions have been announced.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry plays an important role in supporting Moldova’s business environment, facilitating the dialog between the state and private business, strengthening cooperation between entrepreneurs from different countries.
The gross agricultural product in the Republic of Moldova increased by 8.5% (in comparable prices) in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year. The increase was provided by the livestock sector – plus 8,8% against the indicator for the mentioned period of 2025. In January-March of this year, traditionally, the main share (98.3%) of agricultural production fell on products of animal origin.
The Moldovan government approved the Regulation on authorization, cultivation, monitoring, marketing and processing of industrial hemp. The document provides for the expansion of opportunities for the use of raw materials obtained from industrial hemp, which can increase the yield per hectare of agricultural land by about 40%. It will also provide private entrepreneurship with more opportunities for investment and agribusiness development.
The launch of cooperation projects aimed at harmonizing the national agricultural sector with the European Union requirements was discussed during a meeting between the head of the MAIA Agriculture and Food Ministry, Ludmila Catlabuga, and the Italian Ambassador to Moldova, Giuseppe Maria Perricon, and the director of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), Biagio Di Terlizzi.
Vasile Negru of Budesti produces coffins for the local market and for export.
February 2026 showed that the Moldovan grain market does not freeze in the off-season, but works due to stable stocks and long-term contracts. At that time, more than 112 thousand tons (worth more than 431 million lei) were shipped. These are high indicators for a “quiet” month. March answered the main question: was February an exception or is it a trend? The answer is that it is a trend, and with high dynamics.
According to the operative data of the State Tax Service, the state budget revenues, administered by the agency, amounted to about 2.3 billion lei in the period from April 21 to April 24, 2026.
The government decided to partially compensate farmers for the excise duty on diesel fuel used in the period from March 1 to May 31, 2026. For this purpose, 110 million lei will be allocated from the reserve fund.
Proposals to reduce VAT and excise duties on fuel, put forward by the opposition, were criticized by the PAS parliamentary majority in the Commission on Economy, Budget and Finance. The authorities cite possible losses for the budget and economic risks.
Employees should have the right to disengage, protection from excessive workload and access to psychological support. Such approaches are seen as part of modern occupational health and safety standards against a background of increasing psychosocial risks, including stress, burnout and the phenomenon of ‘presenteeism’.
One third of the country’s territory does not have a clearly defined owner. An audit of the Ministry of Environment’s consolidated financial statements for 2025 revealed that the long-standing problem of accounting for hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest land has not been resolved.
In the south of the Republic of Moldova, where water and agro-technologies make the difference between an ordinary fruit harvest and competitive products, Dimitri Caramalac has built step by step a family business for the production of quality table grapes. In 2025, thanks to investments in certification according to the GLOBALG.A.P. international standard, Caramalac Agro SRL intends to actively enter the European Union market.
The National Energy Regulatory Agency (NERA) has set new fuel price caps that will be in effect tomorrow, April 29.
It is proposed that enterprises with an annual turnover of up to EUR 50 million should be categorized as SMEs. Currently, the threshold is 25 million euros in Moldovan lei. It is proposed to increase the volume of total assets of a company twice as much as the current one – up to 43 million euros in MDL.
