Moldova’s agricultural sector is facing a mounting crisis, with farmers caught between cheap imports, rising production costs and what critics describe as insufficient state support. While concerns about dumping by foreign suppliers have intensified in 2026, many of the sector’s problems have been building for years.
Sergey Ivanov, chairman of the parliamentary Commission on Agriculture and Food Industry, has openly criticised the government for failing to create conditions that would protect domestic producers and ensure the country’s food security.
- Moldova agriculture crisis deepens amid import pressure
- Ukraine protects its market, Moldova does not
- Animal culling and disease outbreaks add pressure
- Concerns over contaminated imports
- Subsidies reduced, financial pressure increases
- Energy shock hits sowing season
- Sector caught between multiple pressures
Moldova agriculture crisis deepens amid import pressure
According to Ivanov, Moldovan farmers are under pressure from multiple directions at once: low-cost imports from neighbouring countries, reduced subsidies, a sharp increase in fuel prices during the sowing season and a lack of effective government intervention.
Speaking on TVC21, he said that large retail chains are increasingly replacing local products with cheaper imports, leaving domestic producers without buyers.
“Producers are being told not to deliver any more goods because their products are no longer accepted. The reason is simple: imports are cheaper,” he said.
He stressed that those affected are not newcomers, but established producers who have worked for years on the domestic market and built supply networks. However, rapidly changing conditions have led to the loss of contracts often in the middle of the production cycle.
The situation is particularly severe in the vegetable and dairy sectors, where competition from lower-priced imports, especially from Ukraine, has intensified.
“We invest in development, but local producers are being pushed out through dumping. Then prices rise. In such conditions, we can no longer speak about food security,” Ivanov concluded.
Ukraine protects its market, Moldova does not
At the same time, neighbouring Ukraine, from which a significant share of cheap imports originates, continues to apply protective measures to its own market.
In January 2026, Ukraine’s Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade extended anti-dumping measures on imports of steel bars from Moldova for another five years.
This contrast has fuelled criticism from Moldovan officials and analysts, who argue that Chișinău has been reluctant to use similar tools to defend domestic producers.
Animal culling and disease outbreaks add pressure
The difficulties facing farmers did not begin this year. In recent years, livestock losses linked to disease control measures have also weighed heavily on the sector.
In February 2026, Moldova recorded two outbreaks of African swine fever among domestic pigs in Hîncești District, an outbreak of avian influenza in Orhei District, and three cases of rabies. In April, additional cases were confirmed, including African swine fever in a wild boar in Leova District and several further rabies incidents.
The National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) has warned farmers against purchasing animals without veterinary certificates and against importing pork products from neighbouring countries. However, some farmers argue that the scale of culling has often exceeded actual epidemiological needs, causing significant and sometimes irreversible damage to private farms.
Concerns over contaminated imports
Questions have also been raised about the quality control of imported agricultural products.
In January 2026, ANSA temporarily suspended imports of poultry meat and related products from Ukraine after detecting the banned substance metronidazole in animal feed shipments.
The substance, known for its carcinogenic and genotoxic properties, has been prohibited in food production chains for more than two decades. Ukrainian authorities rejected the restriction as unjustified, noting that their poultry products are exported to the EU and the UK without issue.
The episode has prompted concerns over how long such contaminated products may have entered Moldova before the ban was imposed, and whether oversight mechanisms are sufficiently robust.
Subsidies reduced, financial pressure increases
State support for agriculture has also come under scrutiny. While the government has highlighted significant cumulative support amounting to billions of lei in recent years funding for 2026 was reduced by 190 million lei.
Former official Irina Vlah criticised the decision, pointing out that additional funds around 222 million lei have been allocated to defence infrastructure projects for 2026–2028.
“At a time when 222 million lei can be found for militarisation, 190 million could not be found even to maintain last year’s level of support for agriculture,” she said.
At the same time, the cost of mandatory health insurance for agricultural landowners has doubled in 2026, rising from 1,264 to 2,527 lei. This has added further strain on farmers already facing debt and rising input costs.
Energy shock hits sowing season
The situation worsened in March 2026, when rising global energy prices linked to tensions in the Middle East triggered a sharp increase in fuel costs.
Diesel prices rose by nearly one-third during the peak of the spring sowing campaign, forcing farmers to reconsider their planting strategies.
Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Vasile Șarban acknowledged the problem, advising farmers to scale back production:
“Invest not in 100 hectares that you cannot manage, but in 50 hectares that you can cultivate properly,” he said.
As a result, reductions are expected in the planting of wheat, barley and corn, with some farmers shifting toward less resource-intensive crops such as sunflower.
Sector caught between multiple pressures
Taken together, these developments illustrate the scale of challenges facing Moldova’s agricultural sector.
Farmers are dealing simultaneously with dumping from imports, reduced state support, rising costs, livestock losses and concerns over product quality controls. At the same time, policy responses have been seen by critics as delayed or insufficient.
The combination of these factors raises broader questions about the sustainability of domestic agriculture and the country’s ability to maintain long-term food security.
