European Parl votes to open EU market to Moldovan apples, grapes, plums

Moldova will be able to export up to 40,000 tonnes of fresh apples, 10,000 tonnes of fresh table grapes and 10,000 tonnes of fresh plums to the EU duty free, with most of these imports likely to go to Romania, the European Parliament said in a statement posted on its website.

Russia imposed an import ban on Moldovan farm produce in July as a political response to the EU’s deepening economic and political ties with Moldova. This hurt Moldova’s economy, because Russia is its second largest trade partner after the EU and horticulture employs about 10% of the active population, the statement added.

The duty-free import quota, which still needs to be formally approved by the EU Council of Ministers, is to apply retroactively from August 2014 and expire at the end of 2015.

This measure comes on top of trade preferences granted to Moldova as part of the deep and comprehensive free trade area with the EU, established by the EU-Moldova association agreement, which the European Parliament ratified last month.