Rose Farmers in Bulgaria’s Rose Valley Protest Again

Rose producers from Kazanlak, in the Rose Valley, central SouthBulgaria, on 22^nd of May staged another protest against the low purchase prices of the rose flowers. According to them, the price per kilogramme of oil-bearing rose flowers is insulting because it is just over 1 BGN (0.50 euro cents). The rose farmers blocked the traffic on Stara Zagora-Kazanlak road for a short time.

According to rose producers, this year's rose-picking campaign has failed. Roses are going dry and processing distilleries refuse to buy them. A kg of tose flowers is currently purchased at 1, 60 BGN, which cannot cover the costs made by the farmers.

Firstly, we protest because of the low purchase price and secondly, because we do not know if the distilerie will buy our rose flowers. It is high time that a minimum price be introduced, farmers commented.

Somewhere at 1.60 -1.80 BGN is the the purchase price at the moment. We pay 1.00 -1.20 BGN to rose pickers. What is left to us after we deduct all the costs, they said.

Rose growers suspect that there is an agrement between distilleries for low prices, which will put producers out of business. They have no money even to pay the pickers.

Rose growers insisted, in order to avoid such situations, that government urgently draft a Rose Act, to provide for preliminary contracts for the purchase of the raw material and control over the whole chain.

Bulgaria’s Minister of Agriculture, Rumen Porozhanov, announced that a law on oil-bearing roses is being considered. Minister Porozhanov was heard by the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Food about the problems related to the low purchase prices of the rose flowers.

During the meeting of the committee, he commented that there is an imbalance between the rose fields and the capacity of the distilleries for processing. The idea in the Rose Law is to regulate relations between producers and processors.

We undertake to draft a law, he said. The question is whether it should be just for the oil-bearing rose or be extended to include all essential oil crops. Because what is happening with the roses now, may happen with lavender, etc, he explained

According to rose farmers, pre-purchase contracts for raw materials and control over the whole chain should be required.

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