Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted by 3,5% in the first quarter of 2009 on an annual basis, statistics office data showed on Friday.

This is the first time that the country's GDP marks a drop since the financial and economic crisis in 1997 and the heavy slide is much bleaker than macroeconomists' forecasts.

Last week the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) became the latest addition to the club of institutions forecasting a contraction of Bulgaria's economy in 2009.

The bank estimated that Bulgaria's GDP growth will shrink by 3% this year and a further 1% in 2010, echoing the predictions made by the European Commission at the beginning of the month.

Bulgarian exports shrank 16,4% year-on-year in the first quarter from a 6% decrease in the previous three months, the statistics office data showed. Imports contracted by 21%.

The data showed consumption growth dropped by 5,6% on an annual basis in the first quarter, while the industry shrank 12.2% from January to March.

Investment plunged by 15,4% in January-March.

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