Local or global, Bulgarian or foreign- this is the dilemma the Bulgarian consumers face when they have to choose what type of food products to buy. Many Bulgarians prefer to buy dairy products, meat and sausages produced in Bulgaria, although the prices of the imported items are very attractive and competitive. Their chose is based on the perception that the Bulgarian foods are cleaner, of higher quality and produced under traditional recipes and technology. The results of a latest survey made among the Bulgarian consumers living in Bulgaria’s big cities prove that trend. 71% of the dairy products, 55% of the meat and the meat products and 34% of the fruit and vegetable are viewed as typical Bulgarian food. Consumers distinguish the products made in Bulgaria and have positive attitude towards them. The increased confidence in Bulgarian foods and the increased demand of these items is perhaps due to the double standards in foods in the EU and the fact that some imported food products are of a poorer quality as compared to their equivalents in other Western European countries. The foreign food retailers in Bulgaria also noticed the latest consumer attitudes and started to announce quite often that consumers can find fresh Bulgarian produce in their stores. Traditionally, the festive table of the Bulgarians abounds with meat and dairy products, delicacies and fruit. This Christmas many Bulgarian consumers will again choose high-quality food of Bulgarian producers. Dobrotitsa is among the established Bulgarian dairy producers and has been meeting the needs of consumers mainly in Bulgaria’s southeast region near the city of Dobrich in the past 27 years. The company employs over 300 people and develops a circular production process. The company’s farm is situated near the village of Ovcharovo. Thousands of sheep and cows are bred there with fodder produced on a privately –owned land. The waste-free technology allows the manufacture of a biogas which is used in the production cycle in the form of a clean energy. We rely on the quality of the animal food, in order to produce clean and high-quality dairy products and meat and meet the requirements of the end consumer. We sell natural and real products only and our clients appreciate this, Veselin Tsvyatkov who works as a manager at Dobrotitsa farm told Radio Bulgaria and adds:

As we all know, Dobrudzha region has the most fertile land in Bulgaria which favors development of farming and agriculture. Our company made huge investments in production and cultivates over 6,000 acres of land. It owns 90% of this land. This requires modern machinery, production facilities, biogas facilities and stock breeding farm. The company has over 10,000 cows raised for milk and meat which were imported from the USA and Canada. We also have a sheep breed originating in France which is primarily raised for meat. We work on a very large scale. The company produces 20 types of dairy products, but also sales meat delicacies such as beef pastrami, sausage, flat sausage and larded sausage. Our technologists decide which recipe to use, depending on the animal breeds. The company has huge potential to produce beef pastrami, because the demand of this product is big in Bulgaria and on the foreign market. Beef pastrami was a traditional food of the Proto Bulgarians. Our ancestors preserved the meet for a long time adding extra salt to it and this meat processing technology still exists, yet in its modern versions. We noticed that consumption of yoghurt, yellow cheese and white brine cheese has been constantly increasing in the recent years. These are the best selling items in our food assortment, Veselin Tsvyatkov said.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov

Photos: BGNES