Moldovan plums in Germany are three times cheaper than Turkish ones

Moldovan plums are sold in Germany at competitive prices due to insufficient infrastructure in Moldova for value-added processes like sorting and packaging, which prevents meeting German market standards. Despite being the third-largest fruit exporter to Germany after Spain and Italy, Moldova needs to enhance quality and infrastructure to boost exports. Besides Germany, countries like Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, and others also import Moldovan plums at varying prices.

Moldovan plums are sold in Germany at average and below average prices. Experts explain this positioning by the lack of infrastructure in Moldova that would allow creating added value for fruits, EastFruit reports. Iurie Fala, Executive Director of the Association of Fruit Producers and Exporters Moldova Fruct, and economic expert Veaceslav Ionita discussed this topic during a TV show, Noi.md reports. Iurie Fala claims that Moldovan producers sell plums cheaper because not all of them can offer the required standard on the German market due to the lack of a post-harvest chain. Another explanation concerns the varieties grown in Moldova, which are less competitive compared to varieties from other countries. “If we compare ourselves with Turkey, Italy or Spain, then the infrastructure that creates added value for fruits, I mean sorting, calibration and packaging, is very poorly developed in our country, and our partners have to do these processes where we export. We sell wholesale, ...