MoldovaAgriculture
Figure 20. Net Material Product (NMP) of Moldova by Sector, 1991
Source: Based on information from International Monetary Fund,
Moldova, Washington, 1993, 31.
At the time of Moldova's independence, agriculture
continued
to play a major role in the country's economy, as it had
during
the Soviet period. In 1991 agriculture accounted for 42
percent
of the net material product
(NMP--see Glossary) and
employed 36
percent of the labor force
(see
fig. 21).
The organizational backbone of independent Moldova's
agriculture continues to be its system of former state and
collective farms, one-quarter of which were transformed
into
joint-stock companies by 1994 and are now owned in shares
by the
people who work them. In 1993 Moldova's 600 collective
farms
covered 16.2 million hectares of land and employed 401,300
persons; in the same year, its 389 state farms encompassed
600,500 hectares of land and employed 168,200 persons.
Agricultural output from private farms increased from 18
percent
in 1990 to 38 percent in 1994.
Moldova possesses substantial agricultural resources;
its
climate and fertile soils (1.7 million hectares of arable
land in
1991) support a wide range of crops. The country is an
important
regional producer of grapes and grape products, and its
orchards
produce significant amounts of fruit, including plums,
apricots,
cherries, and peaches. Fruit production is concentrated in
the
north, in the central region, and in the Nistru River
area.
Tobacco is also an important commercial crop. Sugar beets
are
grown throughout the republic and provide raw material for
a
substantial (although antiquated) sugar-refining industry,
and
sunflowers are grown for their oil. Cereal crops,
including
wheat, are grown widely (corn is the leading grain) and
are used
for domestic consumption, export, and animal feed.
Meat accounts for less than half of total agricultural
production. In 1991 about half of total meat output was
accounted
for by pork (145,000 tons), followed by beef and veal
(97,000
tons), chicken (56,000 tons), and lamb (5,000 tons). From
1990 to
1994, the amount of arable land used for livestock
production
decreased by some 25 percent; the number of livestock in
1994 was
400,000.
Probably the most widely known products of Moldova are
its
wines, sparkling wines, and brandies, which were
recognized as
among the finest in the former Soviet Union. In 1991 these
accounted for 28 percent of the output of the
food-processing
sector, followed by meat processing with 22 percent of
production
and fruit and vegetable processing (including the
production of
canned fruits and vegetables, jams, jellies, and fruit
juices)
with 15 percent. Moldova also produces sugar and sugar
products,
perfume, vegetable oils, and dairy products.
Approximately half of Moldova's agricultural and food
production is sold to former Soviet republics. Traditional
markets are Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
Agricultural production has been in serious decline
since the
late 1980s, both in terms of overall production levels and
in
terms of per-hectare production of most crops (see
table 12,
Appendix A). Overall agricultural output in 1991 was at
1970
levels. A number of factors contributed to the decline,
including
difficulties in providing necessary inputs and
agricultural
machinery, disruption of the transportation system,
failures in
the incentive system, difficulties related to political
instability in Transnistria, Gorbachev's anti-alcohol
campaign,
and, not the least, Moldova's variable weather. In 1990 a
drought
resulted in a serious decline in production. On the heels
of the
drought, 1991 saw a spring freeze, severe summer flooding,
and
then the worst drought in some fifty years. Overall
agricultural
output in 1993 was down 15 percent from the previous year;
grain
production, one-third less than in 1991, was particularly
affected (especially corn, which was down over 50 percent
on
average). The trend continued into 1994 when drought and
storms
with hurricane-force winds caused agricultural output to
decline
58 percent from 1993 levels. Although Moldova was
traditionally a
wheat exporter, it had to import 100,000 to 200,000 tons
of wheat
as a result of a 1994 harvest that was 800,000 tons less
than the
harvest of 1993.
In fiscal year
(FY--see Glossary) 1992, Moldova
participated
in the United States Department of Agriculture's P.L. 480
Title I
program, which provided US$7 million in long-term credit
for
government-to-government concessional sales, offered
repayment
terms of ten to thirty years (with grace periods of up to
seven
years), and provided low interest rates. Moldova's line of
credit
was scheduled to increase to US$10 million in 1993.
By the beginning of 1994, total United States
assistance to
Moldova included approximately US$12 million in technical
assistance, in support of Moldova's transition to a market
economy and democracy, and US$68 million in humanitarian
assistance. In 1995 the United States was scheduled to
provide
US$22 million in technical assistance for economic
restructuring
and privatization. This amount brings total United States
assistance to Moldova since 1992 to more than US$200
million.
Data as of June 1995
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