OREANDA-NEWS. July 06, 2012. The Moldovan beer producers that are to cultivate barley and hop will be backed by the Agriculture and Food Ministry (MAIA), Agriculture Minister Vasile Bumacov said.

Bumacov told a news conference that the Moldovan citizens annually consume over 250 million bottles of beer, more than 30 million bottles of vodka and less than 30million bottles of wine. The minister stressed that the unveiled data does not identify Moldova as a country dealing with vine-growing and wine-making, and spoke out in favour of promoting this sector.

Also, Vasile Bumacov said the Moldovan consumers yearly transfer 635 million lei abroad for the import of alcoholic beverages. The official also said that, not to send this money abroad, the Agriculture Ministry will back the Moldovan beer producers that will cultivate barley and hop. "The MAIA has 15,000 hectares of farmlands. If the beer producers want to invest, we will make available these lands and will provide subsidies, just as for other crops," the minister said.

The government has recently approved a decision on technical regulations of beer and beer-based beverages. The decision sees that the beer is an alcoholic drink, stipulates strict requirements for the manufacture of natural beer, and sets conditions for its sale. So far, the legislation in force has not been regulating the production and sale of beer.