Moldova’s organic agricultural companies achieved strong success in connecting with prospective customers, suppliers and organic organizations during their participation last week in BioFach 2019, the world’s largest organic foods trade exhibition.

The six member from the Moldova’s Organic Value Chain Alliance (MOVCA) companies participating in BioFach included:

• Prograin Organic SRL
• Equinox (Crama Domnească SRL)
• AMG-Kernel SRL
• Biantti (Ygrick-Group AF)
• Rose Line SRL
• Natur-Perpetua SRL

The Moldovan companies were among a delegation taking part in BioFach 2019 in Nuremberg, Germany. More than 3,200 organic foods exhibitors and 50,000 visitors from around the world attended the four-day event.  All organic foods displayed at BioFach must meet European Union organic standards. The European Commission recently recognized the Republic of Moldova, as a member of the Eastern Partnership, as on par for meeting specific organic marketing standards that are the equivalent of EU requirements.

“Our goal was not only to generate prospective customer leads for our member companies, but also to make connections with other businesses and organizations which can be beneficial to the continued growth of Moldova’s agricultural sector,” said Alexi Micu, executive director of MOVCA. “We were pleased to connect with numerous potential customers for our participants. We also had excellent discussions with possible suppliers of organic seed and fertilizer that are very important to many of our member companies. We also look forward to continued conversations with the organic associations of several of our European neighbor countries regarding opportunities to share information and education, and to work together for mutual benefit.”

Ela Malai, Ph.D., vice general director of the Republic of Moldova’s National Agency of Food Safety (ANSA), a Ministry of Agriculture division responsible for ensuring that organic certification standards are met, joined the BioFach delegation. Representatives of the country’s seed industry also attended, as did one of Moldova’s leading organic pioneers, Boris Boinsean, who is MOVCA’s president. Mr. Micu delivered an educational presentation during the BioFach Congress describing Moldova’s development as an organic agriculture producer and its market opportunities. Also participating was Control Union Dnjestr SRL, an independent third-party organization which provides organic certification for nearly half of MOVCA’s members.

MOVCA is a non-governmental, membership-based association for organic agricultural and food products in the Republic of Moldova. MOVCA’s members include growers, shippers, processors, farmers’ associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers, consumers and others.

MOVCA’s participation in BioFach 2019 was supported by Lichtenstein Development Service (LED), People in Need Moldova and the Moldova Investment Agency. MOVCA also has received communication strategy assistance for the project from the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer program, implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA).

With the support of the Moldova Investment Agency, MOVCA was privileged to be the first trade exhibition user of the newly introduced #Moldova brand identity. The bright, fresh and colorful „tree of life” images attracted many visitors to the MOVCA booth and helped promote Moldova #organic agriculture products to potential customers.