Bulgaria is storing its wealth in the granaries

The beginning of this year's grain harvest campaign in Bulgaria gives cause for optimism among both producers and consumers. In the context of global uncertainty, bread remains a symbol of national security and stability for the country and the first forecasts for this year's grain harvest are more than promising. According to expert assessments, the quality of wheat is high and the quantitative expectations are also optimistic with a yield of over 6 million tons expected, which guarantees the country's food supply, the chair of the Board of the National Union of Bakers and Confectioners, Mariana Kukusheva, said in an interview for the "Horizont" program of the Bulgarian National Radio:

"According to colleagues who are at the beginning of the path of bread creation - the grain producers, the harvest that is expected is of exceptionally good quality. They say that in the past 15 years, the autumn crops have never been in such good condition. We hope that God will be with everyone and especially with them, so that they can harvest Bulgaria's grain. The wheat harvest, as well as the other grain harvests, are a real factor with a very large emphasis on national security. It is precisely in times like these we live in that the food security of the state is extremely important and bread is the only food that is produced entirely from Bulgarian raw materials. Let us succeed in harvesting the wealth that the earth gives us and which is the result of the efforts of grain producers in the granaries of the country!"

Despite economic changes, Bulgarian bread maintains its high standards, Kukusheva says. According to her, the product on the Bulgarian market is among the most competitive in the entire European Union.

"I continue to claim that Bulgarian bread is the cheapest bread in the European Union in terms of value in relation to quality. I am talking about mass produced bread. In Bulgaria, there are already over 78 types of bread with different prices. Usually, with the media we talk about the bread of nearly 2/3 of the country's population, which is white, brown and Dobrudzha."

Bulgaria is successfully positioning itself not only as an exporter of grain, but also as a producer of finished products that find a place on international markets, Kukusheva points out:

"Bulgarian bread is of high quality. It is present on European tables thanks to retail chains - bread is transported from Bulgaria every day and is sold across Europe. This has been achieved thanks to modern technologies and high quality."

Bread production is a sector with a huge weight in the gross domestic product. Mariana Kukusheva tells us more:

"Bulgaria is a net exporter of grain and this is part of the economic balance of Bulgaria's foreign trade activity, i.e. grain production occupies a significant part of the GDP. In fact, grain makes people secure and rich when we talk about feeding the country's population, especially in the times we live in."

However, pricing is under serious pressure from external factors - on the one hand, record-high energy prices for businesses, and on the other, the rising cost of labour, which accounts for nearly 40% of the cost of each product.

"The price of bread in Bulgaria is absolutely market-based. It is determined not only by the prices of the primary raw material, but also by many other factors such as the price of energy, as in Bulgaria the price of energy for the business is one of the highest in Europe. It is also determined by the price of labour. I have repeatedly said that nearly 40% of the value of the product represents the cost of human labour. There is also the cost of logistics. According to recent Eurostat data, in Bulgaria in the last three months the price of diesel has risen by over 35% as a result of the war in Iran - the highest rise in the entire European market."

Should we expect a rise in the price of bread?

"Every business operator in Bulgaria has the sovereignty to determine the cost price of their production, as well as the delivery price. After all, we are talking about delivery prices, which are quite different from the market prices at which consumers buy. But we must say something very important - we do not work in a cartel and the prices are different. Bread is guaranteed to be accessible to every Bulgarian consumer. Bread continues to be the only food that does not change its value every week. And this must be recognized - ‘swallowing’ the increases on our part and accumulating them at our expense inevitably leads to the decapitalization of business, but also leads to something else - grey economy. Here I appeal to all control bodies and the government of Bulgaria to be strict, because the shadow economy does not only destroy consumer trust, it actually steals from the budget, from social programs, from healthcare and from education."

Interview: Yasen Vakashinsky

Editor: E. Karkalanova