Trade in farming produce and food between Bulgaria and China has gone up by over 37% in 2023, said Minister of Agriculture and Food Georgi Tahov at the opening of a Bulgarian-Chinese business forum in Sofia. The export of Bulgarian commodities to the Chinese market has doubled in 2023, on an annual basis, compared to 2022. In 2023 the country has a positive trade balance amounting to USD 395 million, as compared to USD 52 million in 2022. In recent years, the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, jointly with the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, have been making strenuous efforts to complete the procedures for meeting the import requirements into China of a number of Bulgarian farming and food products.

Seven Chinese companies from different sectors are taking part in the forum.