Over half of the items sold at the large retail stores are produced in Bulgaria, this country’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Rumen Porozhanov said at a round table with representatives of the agriculture sector. Minister Porozhanov gave the start of the campaign in support of Bulgarian food producers.

Sales of Bulgarian products at the five biggest retailers has increased significantly, a recent survey shows. Between 77% and 100% of the bread and pastry products sold at the large retail stores are produced in Bulgaria. 55% to 80% of the meat products, sausages and delicacies sold on the Bulgarian market are also produced in this country. Between 57% and 75% of the dairy produce sold in this country is of Bulgarian origin. The sales of certified organic products also mark serious increase, Bulgaria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Rumen Porozhanov says. For instance, one of the largest retailers registered a 167% increase in the sales of organic produce.

We believe that we should work directly with the Bulgarian producers, in order to be successful, Georgi Garnevski who works for a large retail store told Radio Bulgaria. Moreover, we sell the Bulgarian produce at a higher price, because the quality and the taste of this food are much better. Our customers react positively at this strategy. We started to offer Bulgarian fruits and vegetables first and later added meat, cheese, fish and wine. We will start selling Bulgarian honey soon. We are planning to stimulate the food-processing industries and production of canned food, frozen food, jams and marmalade. 

The Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food puts the emphasis on the achievements in the sector, Minister Rumen Porozhanov underlined during the forum. He compared data of the first 8 months of 2018 to the same period last year.

Production of white meat saw 18% increase year on year and production of red meat increased with 8%, Minister Porozhanov says. The manufacture of fresh packed milk grew with 22% in January-August 2018 as compared to the first eight months of 2017. Production of butter rose 18% and production of cheese increased with 15%. Meanwhile, production of imitation products with vegetable fats fell with 17% thanks to the regulatory amendments and the ban on the use of vegetable fats in the dairy-processing factories. According to preliminary data, in the first 6 months of 2018 the export of agricultural produce increased with 13.5% year on year to EUR 1.9 billion. We are expecting that exports will exceed EUR 4 billion at the end of the year.

Each year the Bulgarian farmers receive financial support to the tune of over EUR 1 billion, Minister Rumen Porozhanov said and added that in 2019 the payments will be balanced between the sectors, which would guarantee better results and productivity. The farmers who attended the round table supported the efforts of the Agriculture Ministry. Bulgaria is the EU country with biggest growth of agricultural produce, because the grey sector shrunk recently, Dimitar Zorov, owner of dairy-processing factory and Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Dairy Producers said:

I hope that the logo Support the Bulgarian Producers will reach all consumers and they will prefer Bulgarian food to imported one, because our food, especially cow and sheep yoghurt, is taster, because there are many Bulgarian farms producing high-quality foods. I also hope that the large retail stores will start selling more Bulgarian food. It is important to teach consumers to eat good quality food. The nutritional value is much more important than the quantity of food. That is why I believe that buyers can contribute more to their food culture.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov