European Union (EU) authorities have granted authorization to George Standard as the first company in the Republic of Moldova to export eggs to the trading bloc.

In recognition of this achievement, Prime Minister Dorin Recean visited the firm’s premises earlier this month, reported the state news agency Moldpres.

To achieve official authorization from the EU, he said that the company has invested in improvements to production methods and raised product standards to meet the high EU standards.

Various agencies have provided funding for George Standard to make the required upgrades. The Agency of Intervention and Payments for Agriculture has provided non-refundable investment for George Standard to acquire a solar energy facility. For the firm to purchase egg sorting equipment, support was obtained from the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development.

“We need to develop this type of business, such as the production of chicken and eggs, in order to cover the demand on the domestic market and support the native producers,” said the Prime Minister. “Also, it is important that we stimulate the smart investments, which help enhance the productivity and consolidate the national economy.”

He made these comments during a visit to the company’s farm in the Riscani district in northern Moldova.

According to Moldpres, there are 43 commercial poultry farms in the Republic, and birds are also kept by more than 225,000 households.

More on the Moldovan poultry sector

Domestic hen egg production amounts to more than 32,600 metric tons (mt), according to the statistics arm of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, FAOstat. National output of chicken meat amounted to 54,600mt. These figures are for 2022, the most recent year for which the source has published figures.

Moldova’s human population is 2.4 million, according to the World Bank.

In a recent referendum, the population voted — by the narrowest of margins — in favor of proposed changes to the constitution, and a commitment to joining the EU, reported the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Since the start of 2024, cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been recorded in 45 Moldovan poultry flocks. This is according to the Animal Disease Information System by the European Commission (as of October 23). However, official notifications to the World Organisation for Animal Health have identified all those affected as small backyard or village flocks, and not commercial farms.