The Moldovan government says it will stop exporting wheat, amid fears of a food crisis, reported Bloomberg.

Agriculture Minister Vasile Bumacov said on Wednesday that the country exported three times more wheat last year than in 2009, which had depleted reserves.

He said the former Soviet republic is in "real danger" of a wheat deficit." The country currently has 135,000 tons of wheat reserves, slightly less than it needs until the next harvest in the fall of 2011.

Prime Minister Vlad Filat has approved the decision to stop exports.

Moldova is one of Europe's poorest countries. Its main industry is agriculture. Last year, it exported wheat to Italy, Romania, Cyprus, Russia and Bangladesh.