Moldova grape farmers face huge losses as heavy rains ruin export harvest
After a long, dry summer, the rains were initially welcomed, but for grape growers in Moldova's Hâncești district, they quickly became a disaster. Instead of a good harvest and profit, farmers are now grappling with cracked grapes, huge losses, and debt.
The rains of the last few weeks have severely affected one of the most profitable agricultural sectors: table grapes. The export-destined "Moldova" variety has been particularly damaged.
Lidia Bezer, a farmer from the village of Ciuciuleni, owns ten hectares of vineyards. A large part of her crop has been ruined, and the rest no longer meets strict export standards.
"Initially, we were all very happy with the prospects for the harvest, but the picking started, and the last 10 days of rain severely affected the quality of the grapes," she said. "We have fields with losses of up to 80%, and others where 50% of the crop has been ruined."
The table grapes, which were intended for markets in Europe and Asia, will now have to be sold to wine factories.
"When we sell to a wine factory, the price is estimated at around four lei per kilogram. But when they are sold from cold storage, the price is 15-20 lei per kilogram. The losses are enormous," Ms Bezer noted.
Nicolae Cherdivară, another grower in the village, returned home after five years of working abroad and invested his savings in agricultural land.
"You can see it: they are cracked, and I don't know what to do. We did all the treatments, made sure they were organic, applied manure, and that is what we were given. It was the same last year," Mr Cherdivară said.
The Deputy Head of Hâncești District, Dumitru Vartic, accompanied by local representatives, visited the fields to assess the situation.
"The situation across the district is quite varied. We have farms affected by 5-10%—I'm referring here to the berries cracking—and we have some plantations that have suffered greatly," Mr Vartic stated. "Those grapes can no longer be sold fresh, nor can we put them into storage."
Moldovan table grape exports to the European Union have consistently increased in recent years. In 2024, volumes exceeded 33,000 tonnes. By comparison, in 2021, the country exported less than 16,000 tonnes to the bloc. This year, however, producers are far less optimistic.
The full story will be shown on the programme "Land and People" ("Pământ și Oameni") on Sunday at 12:00 BST.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
