Bulgarian Harvest Is Good, but Producers Call for Urgent Reforms

Bulgaria’s harvest has been good, but the sector continues to face shortages of labour, inadequate irrigation and a lack of fair market conditions. The Fruit and Vegetable Industry Association is calling for urgent legislative and administrative changes which, it says, could support domestic production without requiring significant financial resources from the state.

According to Svetlana Ormanova, an adviser to the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Association, the season has been favourable for producers and the harvest has been strong, with the exception of part of the cherry crop affected by frost. She said that the increased availability of Bulgarian produce on the market leads to more affordable prices for consumers.

“The more Bulgarian fruit and vegetables there are on the market, the greater the choice consumers have. They also help regulate the prices of fruit and vegetables. Whenever there is Bulgarian produce available, the final prices for consumers fall, but unfortunately this comes at the expense of agricultural producers.”

Ormanova said that fewer and fewer people are becoming professionally involved in fruit and vegetable production. She highlighted the main challenges facing the sector.

“Starting with irrigation, which we have repeatedly warned is insufficient, the workforce, which is continuing to decline, not to mention skilled labour – agronomists, technicians and machinery operators. Another issue is the marketing of produce and the subject of cooperatives and short supply chains.”

She said the industry had submitted proposals to state institutions that could be implemented relatively quickly.

“We expect things to happen much faster, as those in government have a strong enough majority to make the required changes. The measures we have proposed do not require any great effort from the state. They simply require political will.”

Ormanova also commented on the significant differences between farm-gate purchase prices and final retail prices.

“The margins that occur along the supply chain from the producer to us as end consumers are, in most cases, inexplicable.”

“I personally saw raspberries that were selling from the field for between €5 and €7, while in one of the retail chains they were €16 per kilogramme.”

According to her, a fair distribution of prices should ensure that a larger share of the revenue remains with the producer.