TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VITI-VINICULTURAL SECTOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA.

The viti-vinicultural sector has always offered hope to the Republic of Moldova. After periods of glory and decline, we now increasingly realise that harnessing the potential of this sector would give a new impetus to the economic development of the country. Moldova has favorable pedo-climate conditions for developing viticulture and winemaking, achieving outstanding results in the postwar period. The viti-vinicultural production is an important source of products for export, while its domestic consumption contributes to the formation of the State budget, and the social effect lies in the fact that the viticulture grants, on a large part of the population, employment, income for maintainance and raising the standard of living. The factors that influenced the wine-growing sector stagnation were the cause of the negative phenomena of the period of transition to a market economy, such as: the ban on alcohol consumtion, imposed during the Soviet era; improper privatisation in the early 1990s; natural disasters; frosts in winter 1996-1997. As a result of the catastrophic reduction areas of vineyards and grape harvest, there was insufficiency of circulating assets for the renovation of the sector, and providing cars and equipment for maintenance of vineyards and the production of planting stock is at a low level at the present stage too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]