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70% of vegetable greenhouses in Bulgaria stop working

published on 1/7/22 3:19 PM

Photo: Tsvetan Yordanov

70% of the vegetable greenhouses in Bulgaria have stopped working, the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) has reported. "The reason is the extremely high prices of gas and electricity. The industry is collapsing," Teodora Krasteva, executive director of the Bulgarian Association of Greenhouse Producers, told BNR Plovdiv.

Foreign vegetables are conquering supermarkets, Krasteva explains. Tomatoes and cucumbers are imported from Greece, North Macedonia, and Turkey.

"Why do our neighbours succeed and cover foreign markets, and we fail? According to colleagues, the state in Bulgaria acts as a stepmother to vegetable producers," said Krasteva.

The Association gives the example of Greece, where there is also a jump in gas and electricity prices, but the industry continues to work because it receives aid from the state. At their first meeting with the new Minister of Agriculture Ivan Ivanov on Monday, greenhouse producers will demand 70% compensation for the spent fuel.

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Radio Bulgaria News greenhouses producers tomatoes vegetable