Russia Tightens Quotas on Imports From Moldova

Russia has refused to increase export quotas for Moldovan goods for 2019, setting a quota of 15,000 export permits for Moldovan producers - 3,000 less than in 2018.

The Moldovan Economy and Infrastructure Ministry on Wednesday said Russia wanted Moldova first to increase the number of permits for Russian transport operators.

Moldovan authorities said Russia would only consider increasing Moldovan export permits if the rate of Russian transport carriers operating Moldovan-Russian bilateral freight services was monitored and increased.

"In August, the Russian side … requested an additional quota of authorisations, mentioning that 80.8 per cent of … bilateral transport is being carried out by Moldovan transport operators while the share of Russian operators is only 9.3 per cent," a press release from the ministry read.

Russia imposed an economic embargo on Moldova in 2013 after its government decided to sign an Association Agreement with the EU.

Since then, the share of Moldovan exports going to Russia has fallen to only 10 per cent of the total amount, putting the country in fourth place as an end destination for Moldovan goods.

On the other hand, 70 per cent of Moldovan exports now go to EU markets, with Romania being the top destination for Moldovan products.

Moldova's pro-Russian President, Igor Dodon, and his Socialist Party, promised warmer relations with Moscow after the fall of Vlad Plahotniuc's government in mid-June, but progress has been slow.

The new ruling coalition, made up of the Socialists and the pro-European ACUM bloc, has not obtained any concrete economic advantages from Russia to date.

The Economy and Infrastructure Ministry has repeatedly called for more permits for transportation operators...