Moldovan farmers to collect less grain this year, but expect better quality

On August 4, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry released the final tally for the grain harvest this year, which has been rather bleak for most farmers.

According to official data, farmers collected about 770,000 tons of wheat in 2009, which is about half of the harvest last year, when Moldova gathered the highest per annum volume of grain in a decade. Quality (defined in terms of gluten content) has, however, gone up.

Analysts say the economic crisis has clearly affected Moldovan agriculture.