Wholesale prices for walnut kernels in the Moldovan market increased in the last week of February for the first time in 2023. The level of the average and maximum prices increased slightly by about 6% – up to 75-80 MDL/kg ($ 3.99-4.06/kg), EastFruit specialists report.
In the industry organization of walnut growers, they believe that a slight rise in the price of walnut kernels did not result from an increase in exports since there is none. The physical volumes of Moldovan walnut exports (mainly to the EU and Turkey) at the end of February did not differ from those at the beginning of March, and, generally, they were very small. Export traders do not have hopes for a quick change in the situation, as “traditional buyers in the EU claim to have many hundreds of tonnes of unsold high-quality walnut kernels in stock.”
Market operators assume that a slight increase in prices for walnuts at the turn of February/March is due solely to internal reasons. The main Orthodox fast has begun, and a significant part of the Moldovan population observes it. In this connection, the demand for nuts and other energy-intensive products of plant origin will increase slightly. However, this does not mean that sellers have a great chance to raise prices – the solvency of the country’s population has not increased.
As a result, there are quite a lot of offers of high-quality walnut kernels at moderate February prices in the wholesale and retail markets of Moldovan cities in early March.
For more information: east-fruit.com