OREANDA-NEWS. September 11, 2014. Iurie Leanca said that to TV7 and explained that to prevent the growth in the rates, authorities of Moldova purposefully decided the Polish credit be absorbed not via the banking system, but in an unusual way - through the Agency for Agricultural Interventions and Payments (for agricultural producers) and the Bureau for the Grant of the Japanese Government (for industrial producers).

According to Iurie Leanca, if the funds provided by Poland were harnessed via banks, they would grow in price, just as it happened with the loan of EUR 75 million issued by the European Investment Bank to support winemaking in Moldova, when the interest rates amounted to 5% to 6% and, besides, borrowers were required to present the warranties. This time, the interest rates on loans provided through the Polish facilities are expected to be 1% to 1.5%, much less than in banks of Moldova, the Premier said. Besides, the loans will mature in 7 years instead of 2 or 3.

At the consent of Poland, the minimal amount to be borrowed will be brought down from EUR 500,000 to EUR 50,000, which will make the lending accessible to small farms too. As the Premier said, the Agency for Agricultural Interventions and Payments would open a special on-lending department with skilful staff members. According to him, Moldovan agricultural producers are very interested in having the funds of the Polish credit. “What is important that the money have been available for us and what we have to do is to allot it to farmers who need the funds most", Iurie Leanca said.

As it was said earlier, the credit is to be issued for 25 years at an interest rate of 0.15% a year and with the 5-year long grace period. The funds will be spent to back modernization of Moldova’s agri-industrial sector and restructuring of companies producing dairy, milk, meat and other traditional for Moldova and competitive products. The Polish loan will help Moldova to invest in modern agricultural processing technologies.