Moldovan exporters should not count on duty-free fruit exports to Egypt in the near future

Newspaper Title: east-fruit.com

Newspaper Number:

Tuesday - 17 January 2023

Vladimir Bolea, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry of the Republic of Moldova, advised fruit producers to be realistic about the prospect of exporting 2022 apples to the Egyptian market, EastFruit reports. According to the minister, after the official visit of the delegation of the Moldovan government to Egypt and the negotiations with representatives of the Egyptian ministries and economic organizations, an intergovernmental working group was established in November 2022. It is coordinated by the leadership of the Ministry of Economy of Moldova. According to Vladimir Bolea, the working group is currently identifying commodity items of high interest to trade in, as well as calculating quotas for their supply to the Moldovan and Egyptian markets in a preferential regime.

According to the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, relevant decisions are being prepared slowly due to the poor history of trade relations. The annual volume of trade between Moldova and Egypt amounted to only a few million dollars until now. That is, the Egyptian party does not consider the small Moldovan market as a priority in terms of exports, Vladimir Bolea said.

In their turn, the experts of Moldovan fruit-growing associations believe that Moldovan apples of many varieties, table grapes, and dried plums can be in most demand on the Egyptian market. Citrus and exotic fruits, as well as some types of vegetables, could be supplied to Moldova from Egypt.