Nuci

Origins and history

According to figures presented by the Moldovan Ministry of Agriculture in 2026, on the twentieth anniversary of the national association of nut growers, the country has about 18,000 hectares of walnut orchards, producing some 23,000 tonnes of nuts in shell a year. Exports bring in around 41.5 million dollars a year. That puts Moldova eleventh in the world ranking of walnut exporters and ninth for shelled nuts. About 86% goes to the European Union, with Germany, France, Romania and the Netherlands as the largest buyers. So if you buy shelled walnuts in the Benelux, you may well see Moldova on the packet.

A market under pressure

Its position was once stronger. Between 2015 and 2019 Moldova held 11% to 15.3% of European walnut imports. In 2025 the figure was just 3,690 tonnes, 2.5% of the market and, according to Logos Press, the lowest level in ten years; in the first half of 2026 the share fell to 2.2%. China and the United States are gaining ground. The Minister of Agriculture sees the future in more added value, especially shelled nuts, and in modernising old orchards.

Where and how to try it

In Moldovan cooking walnuts are above all festive. Ground with sugar, they make the classic filling for cozonac, and they go into rolled pastries such as învârtită, sometimes with fruit syrup. Older recipes for plăcintă with soured cream used broken walnuts instead of raisins, and the rustic version of turtă, a thin layered cake, combined walnuts with honey. In autumn fresh nuts, in and out of the shell, fill the markets.