News about International trade
Last year, Moldova’s beekeeping industry set a record and an anti-record at the same time: honey exports reached an unprecedentedly high level, while honey production reached its lowest level in at least a decade and a half. This year, according to a moderately optimistic forecast, the industry will do without records – both positive and negative.
Two Moldovan companies took part in Seafood Expo Global 2026, the world’s largest industry exhibition, representing the country on the international seafood market. These are Ocean Fish from Chisinau and Aquatir Caviar from Tiraspol, which placed their own stands at the exposition held from April 21 to 23 in Barcelona.
The cost of fuel in different countries of the world can differ by more than 170 times. In April 2026, the lowest gasoline prices were recorded in Libya: only $0.09 per gallon, and the highest in Hong Kong, where a gallon costs $15.65.
Concerns about fertilizer availability have increased uncertainty about global gross grain harvest projections for the 2026/27 season. For this reason, grain requirements may not be fully met in some parts of the Southern Hemisphere. At the same time, prospects for a recovery in grain trade are weak. These are the main findings of a fresh report by the International Grains Council (IGC).
Employees of the Moldovan Customs Service participated in a three-day seminar on “Goods Identification to Facilitate Physical Control of Dual-use Goods”, organized with the support of international partners.
The emergency program for the regularization of migrants, launched by the government of Pedro Sanchez, has caused a record influx of willing applicants. Amid huge queues and disputes about the burden on the social system, the Spanish authorities call the initiative a step towards integration.
Deputy Parliament Speaker Vlad Batrincea, during his visit to the Chinese city of Foshan, officially invited the leadership of the companies Haitian Machinery and China Lesso Group to visit Moldova. The initiative is aimed at establishing a potential partnership, implementing advanced industrial solutions. To study the experience, the Moldovan delegation visited the production sites of the leading Chinese corporations.
The world’s largest manufacturer, the Malaysian company Karex (which produces Durex, Trojan and other brands), has announced its intention to raise prices by 20-30% or more. Some countries (e.g. Russia) have already seen an increase in retail prices for condoms, including due to logistics costs associated with the Middle East conflict.
The first tranche of the “military” part of the 90bn-euro EU loan will amount to 6bn euros and will arrive in Ukraine no later than June.
Tensions between the United States and Europe are steadily increasing, NATO is increasingly cracking at the seams, and it is hard to think of a better gift for Moscow than a split in the alliance. The initiator of these processes is Trump, who even during his first term talked about the U.S. withdrawal from NATO.
Ukraine is ready to hold trilateral talks with Russia on the territory of Azerbaijan on condition of “Russia’s readiness for diplomacy”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during his working visit to Azerbaijan on 25 April.
The crisis in the Middle East has brought the US into the center of the global oil and gas trade. Disruptions in supplies from the region have triggered a sharp rise in demand for American energy resources, which has already reached historic highs.
SANTIAGO – For decades, global power has come from Europe and the United States. At least that’s what I thought when I first set foot in the Northern Hemisphere as a graduate student at Cambridge University. But the management of Chile’s international economic relations under former President Gabriel Boric has shown how much power the Global South can wield if it so chooses.
BERLIN – What will Europe be like without the U.S. military and political presence? Europeans had better start preparing for this prospect, because it is no longer in doubt that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to end the North Atlantic Alliance and is well on his way to achieving this goal. The only question that remains is whether he will officially withdraw from NATO or simply devastate it with his disdain and contempt.
At the end of the 2025/26 marketing year, Ukraine will increase transitional grain residues from 4 million tons to almost 13 million tons. The reason is the incomplete realization of export potential due to the introduction of restrictive quotas in the EU and increased competition in the markets of Africa and Asia.
The U.S. has effectively allowed Lukoil’s network to operate until October 2026 by issuing a special license that allows the company’s gas stations to continue operating abroad despite the sanctions in place. The competent authorities in Moldova must now speak out and possibly allow the gas stations to continue operating.
At a wholesale price of 200 lei/kg, the first batch of Moldovan strawberries, grown in a heated industrial greenhouse in Soroca district, was sold at the Moldovan wholesale market in the middle of the week.
Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mihai Popşoi participated in the panel discussion “From Soft Power to Hard Reality: The Great European Rebalancing” within the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose duties on the UK if London does not repeal a digital services tax affecting US technology companies.
Moldova has made significant progress in the economic integration process, reflected in the increasing orientation of exports towards the European Union market. At the same time, economic growth is fragile due to external shocks and structural vulnerabilities, including energy dependence.
