High value agriculture remains underdeveloped and offers a market niche for foreign investors. Agriculture has traditionally been and remains the main pillar of the Moldovan economy. The country has favorable soil resources and conditions for agricultural production. The fertile black soil in Moldova is ideal for growing fruit and vegetables. A moderate continental climate with short and relatively warm winters and long, hot summers permits early planting, giving producers a strong competitive advantage. Moldovan farmers have experience in a wide variety of agricultural activities. These factors, combined with affordable labor costs, especially in rural areas, favor the production of high-yield, labor-intensive crops that are competitive in export markets.
Farmland covers 2.48 million hectares, or 75 percent of the country’s territory, including 1.82 million hectares of arable land. The agricultural sector employs over 27 percent of the country’s labor force, and agricultural production usually accounts for around 12 percent of Moldova’s GDP. Combined with the food processing industry, the sector represents more than 16 percent of GDP and approximately 45 percent of total exports.
The GOM supports private land ownership, but foreigners are not allowed to purchase agricultural land.
More than one million tons of fresh fruits and vegetables are produced annually, with 80 percent of the total production taking place in individual households. Ninety percent of locally processed fruits and vegetables is exported.
Moldova offers a large range of agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and livestock. Basic crops include winter and spring grains (wheat, barley, maize), sunflowers, sugar beet, potatoes and other root vegetables, horticultural crops, and fruits.
Moldova’s vegetable crops include tomatoes, onions, cabbage, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers, carrots, red beets, garlic, squash, eggplants, potherbs, and green peas. Fruit production concentrates on apples, plums, sweet and sour cherries, pears, peaches & nectarines, quinces, apricots, soft fruit, walnuts, and table and wine grapes.
The main products in the Moldovan livestock sector are poultry, pork, and beef.
Leading Sub-Sectors
Leading agricultural subsectors are fruits and vegetables (fresh, dried and frozen), fruit and vegetable processing, organic farming, walnut production, bioenergy production, berry production, the oleaginous plant industry, livestock production, and wine.
Opportunities
Opportunities include orchards, vineyards, wineries, vegetable growing in open fields and greenhouses, industrial crop production, etc. Processing is one of the most important and attractive investment categories. Equipment and technology are required for storage, packaging and long distance transportation of fresh products; drying; instant freezing; canning; and the production of ingredients and additives. Other related activities of interest include input supplies. Irrigation, packaging and processing equipment, and agricultural machinery offer other opportunities, as well as production and trade of planting materials and agribusiness leasing. There is increasing demand for organic products, creating opportunities for organic farming. Other niche opportunities include: services for product quality and safety standards in wineries; re-equipping of wineries; vineyard replanting; and expansion of wineries into the tourism industry.