The paper is aimed to present the state of food industry in the Republic of Moldova and its role for increasing employment in the non-farm rural economy. At present in the food processing and beverage industry activates several hundreds of companies and specialized units. Most of them are concentrated in urban areas. Small-scale food processing emerges in rural localities but it remains rather limited. Analysis is based on the information provided by Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, National Bureau of Statistics, and qualitative data collected during the field study of small and medium scale food industries that have been undertaken during the period of November-December 2010 in order to reveal the current situation and major impediments for the further sector development. The analytical work was based on the semi structured in depth interviews conducted in private food industries.