Potato production drops off in Moldova

Sources say that in Moldova, growing potatoes has become completely unprofitable. Sown areas today have decreased by a quarter compared to 2018, and due to the lack of rainfall, growers have to spend extra on irrigation systems.

Agronomist Radu Grossa is the only one in Moldova who invested in the purchase of refrigerators and a potato processing line. The Food Safety Agency recognized Grossa as a reference enterprise.

Radu Grossa, agronomist :

“I have to buy planting material abroad, in Moldova they do not produce seeds. It would be nice for the state to think about how to ensure that planting material is subsidized. To plant one hectare of potatoes, I spend three thousand euros only on seeds.”

In Moldova, one person consumes about 120 kilograms of potatoes per year, but local producers can only meet half of these needs. The rest is imports, mainly from Belarus.

This spring, the country already felt the potato crisis. A kilogram of these tubers was more expensive than bananas - about two dollars. The country’s Belarusian partners had to increase the volume of exports to the republic urgently.