The Marketing Structure in Agribusiness during the Transition in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is moving toward a food processing and marketing system which resembles that of Western Europe and the U.S. Large grocery chains from Germany, Austrai and Turkey are building supermarkets and hypermarkets in Bulgaria’s larger cities. However, income in Bulgaria remains much lower than in Western Europe and most Bulgarian consumers cannot afford to shop in the new stores yet. Neighborhood markets, which serve average Bulgarians, are expanding their product selections and remain the primary shopping venue. Food processing plants in Bulgaria are being upgraded to meet EU standards. Farmers are getting more efficient as land is consolidated. On the whole, the agriculture and agribusiness sectors in Bulgaria are improving.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40124/3/wp738.pd

Organic Certification is now available by a Bulgarian company

Balkan Biocert LTD was registered in January 2003 and has conducted the first inspections in Bulgaria. BALKAN BIOCERT Ltd, a private shareholder company which is fully owned by Bulgarian shareholders, offers inspection and certification services for organic production, processing and trade in Bulgaria and its neighbouring countries. Certification is done in accordance with Bulgarian legislation as well as EU-Regulation. BALKAN BIOCERT technically collaborates with the reputed Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), which has been active in Bulgaria for several years, and with IMO (Institute for Market Ecology), a certification body based in Switzerland that is well-recognised internationally