The Bulgarian vegetable growers and gardeners are in a difficult market situation. According to the associations of the farmers in this sector, up to 80% of the fruit and vegetables sold in Bulgaria are imported from EU and neighboring countries. In an interview for Radio Bulgaria Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Chavdar Marinov summarized the problems in the sector in three points. First, the Bulgarian producers need market. Secondly, they need adequate assistance and thirdly, they need protection from unfair competition.

The role of the large retail chains is very important as well. We have already organized 2 meetings with all big retailers in Bulgaria and asked them to support the Bulgarian producers. I would call on all Bulgarian consumers of fruit and vegetables to buy and look for Bulgarian produce, which actually happens in many EU member states. The Bulgarian fruits and vegetable varieties have traditional flavors and the local consumers should prefer them, because their quality is higher. This is the time when we must protect our local produce ourselves.

Do the Bulgarian vegetable and fruit producers receive enough subsidies to be competitive to the foreign producers?

There is an imbalance in the allotment of subsidies in the old and the new EU member states, Deputy Minister Chavdar Marinov went on to say. Bulgaria and the other new member states insist that the amounts of subsidies granted to the old and the new members of the European Union gradually become equal. However, the low subsidies are not the only problem. The associations in this sector insist that they should get back the value added tax levied on their fruits and vegetables. The initiative is supported by the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ministry of Finance. This mechanism has been introduced successfully in the grains industry. According to the National Revenue Agency, this is a positive approach, because the amount of collected taxes has increased, the producers are not operating in the gray economy and do not hide their turnover. However, some traders violate the regulations and the procedures when they import fruit and vegetables. For instance, some of them pay 6 to 7 eurocents per kilogram of tomatoes and 5 eurocents per kilo of potatoes. We have already undertaken an initiative to create a database and register all traders. The process should be monitored and controlled strictly, so that we know what we put on our table, where this produce comes from, whether tax and VAT is paid, etc.

When the EU subsidies, which were negotiated before Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, will be renegotiated?

Currently, a debate on the next programming period is held, Chavdar Marinov specifies. Now is the moment to call on all farmers and branch associations to participate actively in the preparation of the documents for EU subsidies. Each sector should voice its position with arguments and figures, so that the necessary documents for the next five-year period are prepared and developed. I would like to assure you that Bulgaria will not receive less, it will even get more financing in some sectors. The total subsidy for fruit and vegetable production is nearly 40 million under coupled payments. No other member state provides that big support under this scheme. But let me go back to your question – whether these subsidies are sufficient. I will repeat again – they will never be enough, until the levels of EU subsidies for the old and the new members become equal. The EU market is not that big. Our producers must compete with the producers from other EU countries whose produce is more competitive due to the higher subsidies and the better production facilities. That is why their produce costs less than the Bulgarian produce. That is why I am calling on the Bulgarian farmers to do their best to participate under the measures in the rural development programmes, in order to buy the necessary equipment, implement the innovations in their business and become competitive to their EU colleagues.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov