After various interviews with Moldovan fruit growers and exporters, today is a fresh produce importer’s turn. “We load exotics in the Netherlands, citrus in Turkey, spices in Uzbekistan, and lettuce in Italy,” begins Cristina Brinzila, Biofruct Exim’s manager.
The company, which primarily supplies the hospitality sector and supermarket chains, is housed in the wholesale market in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau. “Half our hospitality customers collect their products, the other half we deliver to their door. The restaurants usually take vegetables and citrus, but we also have about three clients who like working with exotic specialties in the kitchen.”
Flown-in mangoes via the Netherlands
The volume of exotics the importer trades is not meager, though. In supermarkets, the segment has expanded considerably in recent years. “We offer flown-in mangoes, granadilla, physalis, papaya, you name it. We pick up our tropical fruit in the Netherlands; the truck is always full. The really pricey exotics, however, appeal to a limited audience. Most Moldovians can’t afford such luxury products. Yet we’re not the only company importing tropical fruits; we have three competitors,” says Cristina, who runs the company together with her husband Ivan Ciobu.
Cristina Brinzila runs together with her husband Ivan Ciobu fresh produce importer Biofruct Exim
The bananas from Ecuador are ripened in Moldova, while avocados are made ready-to-eat in Dutch ripening facilities. “We don’t only import overseas products via the Netherlands, but also Dutch greenhouse vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, and onions. Of the latter, though, only the red ones.”
Herbs from Uzbekistan, citrus from Turkey
Biofruct Exim imports onions from Uzbekistan, too. “As well as garlic and especially herbs. We bring those – often a full trailer of herbs – in by road. The parsley is of excellent quality,” Cristina explains. Italy is also known for its herbs, but the company gets only the full range of lettuce, including arugula and spinach, from there. “In the summer, the various lettuce products, including baby leaf, are very popular. Sometimes, we pick that up near Naples, where the lettuce is grown, but more often, transshipment is done at the Padua wholesale market, which acts as an export hub in Italy.”
A wide range of exotic fruits: mango, lime, avocado, passion fruit, pineapple, dragonfruit, papaya, etc.
Turkey is another important country of origin for Moldovan retailers’ fresh produce sections. “We import several products from there, like greenhouse vegetables and citrus, kiwis, and pomegranates. We prefer the quality of Turkish cherry tomatoes over those from Italy. The Netherlands is also top, but is twice as expensive as Turkey. We can also source bell peppers from there a quarter cheaper than in the Netherlands,” says the manager.
Biofruct Exim’s warehouse has ample Spanish products such as citrus, persimmons, vegetables from Almería, mangoes, and avocados. Most are imported via Dutch distributors for now. “We’re considering importing directly from Spain in the future.”
Tomatoes and bell peppers from Turkey
Delays at Romanian port
And while Egypt has recently gained ground in the Western European market with numerous products, including citrus and sweet potatoes, Cristina is hesitant. “We imported some volumes from Egypt for the first time this year, but it didn’t go well. Mainly because of the unreliable transit time, primarily caused by delays at the Romanian port of Constanza,” she explains. “A batch that was supposed to arrive before Easter only got here ten days later when the holidays were already over. The port was closed for ten days. We lost a buyer because of that.”
When asked about the strongest climbers in their range, the importer points to greenhouse vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, Gold pineapples, and Hass avocados. “Herbs are doing very well, too. In fact, we have the honor of supplying those for a TV cooking show. Only our name doesn’t appear on screen; we’ll have to look into that,” Cristina concludes, laughing.
For more information:
Cristina Brinzila (Manager)
Biofruct Exim Ltd
8 A Calea Basarabiei Street
Chisinau, MD2002 – Moldova
Mob: +373 69 433 810
[email protected]