International trade
As a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, more than 600,000 hectares of land owned by agri-food companies from the TOP-100 ranking are in territories controlled by the Russian army. In general, the land bank of companies from the TOP-100 is about 5.3 million hectares: this is a quarter of all sown areas of Ukraine, which are estimated at 23 million hectares. Ukrlandfarming, Agroton and HarvEast suffered the biggest losses.
The global energy sector is bracing for the most significant disruption in four years. As the conflict in Iran escalates, the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important transportation artery for liquefied natural gas (LNG), has come to a near standstill. Iran has characterized the waterway as “virtually closed,” effectively blocking 20 percent of the world’s LNG supply.
According to the forecast of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the increase in food prices in Moldova in 2026 will amount to 4.9%, which puts our country on the 43rd place in the world on this indicator among 160 states.
The military campaign of Israel and the United States against Iran, which began on February 28, increases the risks of supply disruptions and contributes to the growth of oil prices. In this regard, OPEC+ will consider tomorrow, March 1, a larger increase in supply from as early as the second quarter of 2026, Bloomberg reported citing a delegate.
Romania’s pork industry is experiencing the most acute crisis in the last decade. For five months, many Romanian pork producers have been operating outside the profitability zone. The country’s market is under intense pressure from heavy pork shipments from the European Union, which is shedding its reserves due to the threat of a widespread African swine fever epidemic in Spain. The short-term outlook for the industry is extremely unfavorable.
In the second half of February on the Moldovan walnut market, demand and prices for large quantities of walnuts in shell increased sharply. The result was a series of transactions for hundreds of tons of this product.
In a tense global order, the struggle for control of energy and mineral resources is increasingly seen as a matter of national security. From Venezuela and Greenland to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Ukraine, competition for strategic resources shapes global power dynamics, alliances and conflicts.
UPDATED. On the morning of February 28, Israel announced a “pre-emptive strike” against Iran. Later, a number of U.S. media outlets said that the U.S. armed forces were also launching dozens of strikes against Iran with U.S. attack aircraft based at bases across the Middle East and from aircraft carriers.
The analytical company Bernstein has published a new review of the world’s largest hotel chains and named the stocks that have the highest growth potential. Estimates are based on forecasts to 2027 and financial indicators of the companies.
The Government of Kazakhstan has approved an ambitious plan for the development of domestic livestock farming for 2026-30. It envisages a two-thirds to twofold increase in the performance of most branches of this sector.
Crude oil on the world markets traded in multidirectional quotes all week, but maintaining rather high prices and reacting nervously to geopolitical challenges. Before the weekend, the price of the main brand Brent consolidated above $71 per barrel and indicated clear intentions for further growth.
The National Authority of Constanta Seaports plans to cover the acquisition of Danube Logistics, operator of the Giurgiulesti International Free Port (Moldova), by raising a total of 281.6 million Romanian lei ($65.41 million) from shareholders, Logos Press reported.
The mandatory implementation of cash registers for a portion of small merchants has led to the public display of personal data in fiscal receipts, Logos Press reported.
Imports of Moldovan wine, fresh grapes and other wine products into Ukraine may be significantly restricted in the near future. The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has prepared amendments to the list of goods whose import is subject to special control in 2026, Logos Press has reported.
In 2025, the foreign trade turnover of agricultural and food products between Ukraine and the European Union decreased by 9% compared to the record figure of the previous year – to $15.7 billion, according to Logos Press.
Armenia is ready to open a land border with Turkey and to establish diplomatic relations with it. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that these two issues are nomadic in the dialog between the countries, as well as with the European Union, Logos Press reported.
Despite last year’s relatively high crop of mass-market vegetables, some of them will run out of stock in storage within the next two weeks. Not because demand will increase, but because quality will degrade rapidly, Logos Press reports.
Another batch of low-quality imported cookies was seized by inspectors of the National Agency for Food Safety (ANSA) before they were sold to retailers. The reason is “the content of trans fats is higher than the permissible norm”, Logos Press reports.
Moldova is among the countries that will benefit from the reduction of US trade duties, Beata Javorczyk, chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), told AFP news agency, Logos Press reported.
About 30-40% of specialized farms plan to expand their berry plantations this year, especially strawberries. This is partly due to the abnormally harsh winter, the late start of the season and rising prices for berries, especially early berries, in Central and Southern Europe, Logos Press reports.
