Bulgaria, Greece Must Unite against Macedonia, Turkey in Agriculture - Bulgarian Min

Bulgaria and Greece should team up to offer strong competition in the area of agriculture against non-EU neighbors Macedonia and Turkey, argued Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov.

Saturday Naydenov visited Greek livestock breeding exhibition Zootechnia in Thessaloniki.

"There is a competition pressure in agriculture on the part of Turkey and Macedonia, who are not part of the EU and their agriculture sectors can enjoy privileges not available to agriculture producers in the EU," said the Bulgarian minister in an interview for ANA-MPA.

"We are neighbors with Greece and our ambition is to be able to increase mutual exchange," stressed Naydenov.

The Bulgarian Agriculture Minister noted that Greek agriculture companies already have the established practice of using Bulgarian raw products, and suggested that this can be boosted.

He also called for an increased trade exchange of produce, with more Bulgarian grain products to be imported in Greece, and more Greek fruit and vegetables to be imported in Bulgaria.

In particular, Naydenov stressed that Bulgaria has still work to do in the absorption of EU subsidies in agriculture to achieve the full potential of the sector.

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