Radio Bulgaria

In the past century Bulgaria was a big exporter of fruit and vegetables but these days the country imports more produce than it sells abroad. Two decades of reforms after the fall of the socialist regime in the country have brought serious damage to Bulgarian agriculture. The lack of subsidies for producers of fruit and vegetables have dealt another harsh blow to the sector.
In 2012 the Bulgarian state finally decided to support the sector, which has almost vanished. 12.5 million euro will be paid to farmers during the year. 7.5 million euro out of this come from European subsidies while 5 million euro was provided by the state budget. The amount of subsidies will depend on the quantity and quality of the produce. Payments according to area of arable land proved to be ineffective and that is why the policy changed. Since Bulgaria became a EU Member State, just 8% of the received European subsidies have been directed towards producers of fruit and vegetables. Most of the subsidies for farmers were received by grain producers.

Is 2012 going be a successful year for Bulgarian producers of fruits and vegetables?
Probably not, as subsidies continue to be modest. It is still better than nothing, Slavi Trifonov, chairman of the Bulgarian National Horticultural Union says. The year could mark the end of a long-standing negative trend in this traditional Bulgarian sector. In the past Bulgarian emigrants taught citizens in Central Europe the horticultural craft. Bulgarian fruit and vegetables are also known for their exceptional quality and taste, unknown to many of the consumers in Western countries. The real taste of tomatoes forgotten by many Europeans can still be found in Bulgaria, not in shops but in the gardens in the villages. Even in Bulgarian markets the vegetables and fruit sold are of the types that look good and can be preserved for a long time but lack a major quality – the taste.

Statistics show that in 1989 170 thousand hectares were planted with vegetables while in 2006 the area was just 70,000 hectares, Plamen Dimitrov, manager of The Bulgarian Greenhouse Growers' Association says. Moreover, in 1989 there were some 112,00 hectares of land planted with fruits, while in 2006 there were 37 thousand hectares. The negative trend continued also after 2006. In the period 2009-2011 produce in the sector decreased by 15%, according to statistics by the Ministry of Agriculture. The statistics for 2011 show growth of agricultural exports, based mainly on a serious growth of the export of sweet corn. At the same time the export of tomatoes has decreased twofold while that of peppers decreased by 70%. The growth in the fruit export is just 0.1%.

In addition to the subsidies for Bulgarian farmers this year Bulgarian producers of fruit and vegetables could also count on the program for development of the rural regions, Svetlana Boyanova, Deputy Minister of Agriculture says.

English: Alexander Markov