Only about 2% of the wines exported by the Republic of Moldova reach the Ukraine market, with most Moldovan wines going to other destinations, particularly the European Union. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Digitization Eugeniu Osmochescu made the statement in response to a question about the economic impact of a possible licensing measure Ukraine could impose on Moldovan wines.
Osmochescu clarified that the issue does not concern an embargo, but rather the possible introduction of licensing requirements.
“We are not talking about an embargo; an embargo could only be imposed in violation of international law, of the Free Trade Agreement to which both states are parties, and of WTO rules. The Ukrainian side has announced the possibility of imposing licensing requirements on the import into Ukraine of grapes, wine and strong spirits from the Republic of Moldova,” he said.
The official added that the responsible institutions of the two countries are currently holding discussions to find solutions.
“At the moment, we are in daily discussions with the authorities in Ukraine, including through the food safety agencies, in order to find solutions to the problem that has arisen – the import of chicken meat into the Republic of Moldova. For us, the most important thing is the safety of consumers in the Republic of Moldova. Our standards are so high that we already have access to the European Union market with chicken meat and eggs, which means we are fully aligned with European Union food safety standards. Therefore, we have no room for alternative discussions,” Osmochescu said.
He noted that representatives of the private sector in both countries have also held talks to identify technical solutions to unblock poultry meat imports into Moldova. New discussions between the food safety agencies of Ukraine and Moldova are scheduled for today.
“We will discuss at a technical level how to unblock the situation,” Osmochescu underlined.
He stressed that trade relations between the two countries remain a priority and are conducted in a spirit of good neighborliness and friendship. “Nothing will be damaged in the future, because we are looking for solutions to unblock the situation. I repeat, our top priority is the safety of consumers in the Republic of Moldova,” he concluded.
On January 26, 2026, the National Food Safety Agency of Moldova (ANSA) announced the temporary suspension of poultry meat imports from Ukraine. The institution stated that the decision followed complex investigations after the detection of the banned substance metronidazole in batches of feed previously imported from the neighboring country.
Last week, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Ludmila Catlabuga announced that Moldova would begin the gradual unblocking of poultry meat imports from Ukraine, but only under much stricter sanitary controls.