Bulgarian Fruit Crops Suffer Due to High Temperatures and Hailstorms
This year, Bulgaria saw a weaker fruit crop harvest compared to previous years
Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Dimitar Grekov has said that 96% of this year's wheat crop and 99.5% of the barley crop have been harvested.
Speaking after a government sitting on Wednesday, he boasted that it was Bulgaria's best harvest in 8 years.
Grekov, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), made clear that a total of 4.716 million tones of wheat had been harvested from a territory of 11.7 million decares, the average yield being 428 kg per decare.
He informed that a total of 66.51% of this year's wheat harvest was top-quality and could be used for bread.
Grekov said that the 2013 harvesting campaign proceeded at a better pace compared to 2012 owing to the good processing of the crops, the favorable meteorological conditions and the use of appropriate types of crops developed by Bulgarian research institutes.
Grekov emphasized that grain exports were not the most efficient way to make profits both for Bulgarian agricultural producers and the state.
He insisted that a portion of the grain harvest had to go to other sectors like livestock breeding and the production of value-added food items.
Bulgaria's Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski is to meet Thursday with grain producers to discuss options for an earlier payment of subsidies for 2014, according to reports of Sega daily.
Grekov announced Wednesday that he would ask that at least 20% of the state subsidies earmarked for 2014 be paid in the autumn of 2013.
The municipal councils in Kozloduy and Krivodol have become the first in Bulgaria to implement dual pricing for municipal services, taxes, and fees
According to a recent survey by the European Investment Bank Group (EIB), nearly 80% of Bulgarian companies have taken steps to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed a law allowing the purchase of two Russian-made nuclear reactors originally intended for Bulgaria's Belene Nuclear Power Plant
Bulgaria’s draft budget for 2024 raises questions about its realism and whether it is a mere strategy to appease the European Commission and the European Central Bank
Ukraine's parliament has given the green light for the acquisition of two nuclear reactors initially intended for Bulgaria's Belene Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)
The Black Sea region in Bulgaria is facing a serious labor shortage ahead of the summer season
Bulgaria's Perperikon: A European Counterpart to Peru's Machu Picchu
Bulgarians Among EU's Least Frequent Vacationers, Struggling with Affordability