A total of 291 firms from 23 countries will participate in the 2010 spring edition of Bulgaria’s largest business expo, the Plovdiv International Fair.

The 2010 participants are 30% fewer than their number in 2009, announced the CEO of the Plovdiv Fair, Bogomil Bonev.

In his words, the recent scramble in which the government tried to restore its ownership over the fair as a majority shareholder by seizing it from businessman Georgi Gergov, has hurt the image of the expo, and the drop in participants is not due entirely to the economic crisis.

The spring expo is starting on May 11, and will continue till May 16. The 2010 edition of the Plovdiv Fair has a new motto, “Business Meets Business”.

The ten exhibits of the fair in the spring will food products, construction materials, furniture, clothing, cosmetics, gym equipment, among others. There will also be a “Expo of Municipalities”, a Business Consulting Zone, and a National Expo of Goods Produced by Disabled People.

For the first time, the Plovdiv Fair will hold “Coffee Days” featuring specialists and skillful bar-tenders.