OREANDA-NEWS. December 03, 2009. The grape harvest constituted 650 thousand tons in Moldova in 2009, 2/3 of this harvest was grown a by the farms, the data by Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry asssert.

The yield of technical grape varieties constituted 525 thousand tons and the yield of table varieties accounted for 125 thousand tons. The average crop yield constituted 4.5 t/ha against 4.3 t/ha a year ago. The highest crop yield was in the Straseni raion – 6.4 t/ha, Causeni – 5.7 t/ha, Stefan-Voda – 5 t/ha.

Ninety-two wineries, which were opened this year, processed 227 thousand tons of grapes. The country succeeded in having exported only 1.2 thousand tons of industrial varieties – to Romania and Ukraine.  The exports of table grape exceeded 27 thousand tons; 18.5 thousand ton – to Russia.

In Moldovan winemakers’ opinion, the weather conditions for the present harvest were the most favorable for the last ten years. At the same time, it was favorable not only by a high-quality of grape, but also owing to the low prices on raw materials.