50% of Bulgarian agricultural production is scrapped, according to Svetozar Vasilev, representative of the Agro Bazar AD company.

Speaking in Plovdiv at a discussion organized by Trakia Economic Zone, Vasilev, former Chair of the Plovdiv-based unit of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, explained that the reason behind the waste was mistakes in the processing and storage.

He explained that Agro Bazar AD had been established two years ago to make sure that local agricultural production is preserved and that Bulgarian producers increased their presence on local and international markets.

Vasilev, as cited by investor.bg, noted that the company united six major producers in the Plovdiv region.

He said that the company had bought a plot of 160 decares in the region of the southern village of Kalekovets and had prepared a project for an agricultural zone which was part of the Trakia Economic Zone.

Vasilev specified that the agricultural zone would include a marketplace, a production base for the sorting and packaging fruit and vegetables, as well as, at a further stage, for the processing of damaged and undersized fruit and vegetables into juices and canned food products.

He emphasized that the main goal of the initiative was to unite agricultural producers, adding that international retailers wanted large quantities of fruit and vegetables which could not be supplied by one or two farmers.