During 13-17th of October 2014, 17 companies representing the agro-industrial sector from Republic of Moldova participated at the economic mission organized by EBA Moldova in partnership with Chamber of Commerce and Industry from Republic of Moldova, within the project DCFTA - Consolidation of capacities and public opinion.
The business trip took place in Antwerp, Belgium and Rotterdam, Netherlands. Within the visit a B2B event was organized in partnership with Voka - CCI Antwerp-Waasland, the Chamber of Commerce from Belgium, at which participated almost 20 producers and processors of fruits and vegetables from Belgium as well as representatives of Eurochambres and of the Embassy of Republic of Moldova from Belgium.
The goal of the economic mission was to present an image of the requirements needed to enter the EU market, and because of this, and therefore visits to commercial greenhouses were organized which sell their products under the Global Gap certification, the minimum certification required for the production to be eligible for import in EU. Furthermore, a certification body was visited, Control Union, which presented the practical aspects of certifications necessary. A visit was made at a fruits and vegetables auction to understand the advantageous fluctuations of the prices for fruits and vegetables when these are commercialized by companies specialized in trade.
During the visit in the Netherlands, a number of greenhouses were visited which are utilizing the modern technologies for growing tomatoes, strawberries and peppers. Using the latest technologies, those greenhouses are highly competitive on the EU market in regard to quality and quantity of production. The Moldovan producers had the occasion to see how fruits and vegetables are grown under the artificial assistance, as well as to find out about the costs and activity included in a modern equipped greenhouse.
In conclusion the visit showed following issues: in order to cover the requirements of the EU market, the Dutch agricultural producers are working together in cooperatives, in order to get a mutual exchange of information to cover the necessities of different markets concerning the frequency of deliveries, the volume of deliveries, packaging, quality requirements and production, during the whole year of activity.
Another visit was made to a company producing equipment for washing and drying fruits and vegetables, as well as producing complete sorting lines. A company which commercializes fruits and vegetables at an international level was visited, and this was confirming the importance that implementation of the Global Gap certificate is a basic requirement for commercializing the agricultural production on the EU market.