Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Dragomir Stoynev has backed the idea to build a hypermarket offering domestically produced goods.

He specified that the project for the establishment of a hypermarket offering Bulgarian goods only was at a very early stage of development.

He said that the talks aimed at specifying the support of the Ministry of Economy and Energy for small and medium-sized enterprises were yet to start.

"The idea is to build a hypermarket which will serve as the shop window of Bulgarian producers," Stoynev declared, adding that the support of the state was necessary, but he was not very optimistic that the project could be implemented within a short period of time, taking into account the current state of affairs in the country.

Lukan Lukanov, Chair of the Made in Bulgaria Union, commented that there were a number of appropriate vacant properties, adding that each country had its ways of supporting its small and medium enterprises.

Stoynev signed Friday an agreement with the Made in Bulgaria Union – Union of Small and Medium Businesses.

The agreement is to provide greater access to markets and greater support for exports to small and medium-sized Bulgarian enterprises, according to reports of the BGNES news agency.

"To us, signing this agreement is very important, as our colleagues will receive a clear sign that the state and the Ministry back small and medium companies not only on paper," Lukanov commented.

Lukanov and other representatives of the Union also drew Stoynev's attention to the issue of reducing requirements for the access of small and medium Bulgarian companies to EU funding.