OREANDA-NEWS. February 03, 2011. Vasile Bumacov, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, said the Cabinet had taken this decision to ensure the country’s food security and to prevent rise in prices for bread. He said the ban concerns supplies of both food and fodder wheat as food wheat can be exported from the country said to be fodder wheat. Besides, a part of fodder wheat with, for example, 17% gluten content, may also be used to bake bread.

The Agriculture Minister said the decision on the wheat export ban would become effective after publication in the Monitorul Oficial. Until that time, wheat can be exported, according to contracts available, by economic agents having necessary certificates. Vasile Bumacov emphasized that the ban for wheat export is temporary and could be removed when a check shows that such measure is no longer needed.

The Minister reminded that the volume of wheat exported by Moldova in the last half-year – from 1st of August 2010 through January 31, 2011, exceeded results of the same period of the previous year thrice, and if export is not limited now, Moldova may be left without bread in few months. Vasile Bumacov said the home market needs 145 thousand tones of food wheat till the next harvest.

Currently, Moldova has 135 thousand tones of bread grain. According to him, the deficient wheat is imported from Ukraine. Moldovan grain exporters earlier strongly objected introduction of such a ban, urging the authorities to observe the market economy conditions and not to prevent companies from trading with crops and selling wheat to foreign partners basing on the contracts signed.

In their opinion, the stocks available in Moldova are enough to provide the country with bread. Grain exporters believe the growth of prices for bread in the country is due first of all to the rise in cost of fuel. At the same time, Prime Minister Vladimir Filat said the authorities had to take into consideration not only the interest of producers and exporters of wheat, but also of the country as a whole not to leave population without bread because of the mass export of Moldovan wheat.

Wheat harvest in Moldova in 2010 increased by 1.5% - to 748 thousand tones, however, only 240 thousand tones of grain belonged to the food wheat. Moldova’s annual needs in food wheat are valued at 340 thousand tones.