BRANCH ORGANIZATIONS MEETING AT BIA: A LACK OF ANALYSIS OF THE CONDITION AND PERSPECTIVES FOR THE FOOD AND DRINK INDUSTRY

Current issues of the food and drinks sector have been brought to the attention of the management of BIA by branch organizations from the industry.

The meeting was initiated and hosted by the Executive President of BIA Radosvet Radev, who started a series of business meetings with the collective members of BIA, which aim is to identify opportunities for joint actions to solve specific problems of different economic sectors.

Participants in the meeting were representatives of the National Branch Union of Bakers and Confectioners (Mariana Kukusheva - Chairwoman of the MB), Oilseed Oil Producers Association in Bulgaria (Eng. Mariana Cholakova – Executive Director), Bulgarian Soft Drinks Association (Jana Velichkova - Executive Director), Association of Meat Processors in Bulgaria (Svetla Chamova - Executive Director), Union of Bulgarian Miller and Union of Rice Producers (Savina Vlahova – President), Union of the processors of fruit and vegetables (Stoycho Kirovski – President of MB and Antoaneta Bojinova – Executive Director), “Food Drink Bulgaria” (Svetla Lesova – President of MB and Iana Ivanova – Executive Manager), Union of Brewers in Bulgaria (Ivana Radomirova – Executive Director), Union of Sugar and Sugar Products Producers (Georgi Uzunov – Chairman of MB).

Part of the meeting on behalf of BIA were the Executive President Radosvet Radev, the Vice-Presidents Dimiter Brankov and Petar Denev, directors of centers and experts.

Several key issues have been raised in the course of the talks by the branch organizations, over which BIA has undertaken to assist its collective members:

1. The need for a comprehensive, in-depth sectoral analysis (including raw material base, markets, jobs, applied research, state of production capacities, etc.) to outline the problems and opportunities for developing the food and drink industry.
2. The adoption of the Food Act, which is delayed due to contradictions in principle, regarding the inclusion of the water sector in the proposal.
3. The application of so-called a circular economy, for which we still lack sufficient information and initiatives, there are serious problems with the new European legislation on the recycling of plastic packaging.
4. Adopt a clear procedure for prior agreement on draft trade agreements between the European Union and third countries so that the interests of Bulgarian producers and traders are protected.
5. Introduce differentiated VAT rates for food.
6. The legislation against the so-called “double standards” for food was defined as a rather populist, pre-election topic rather than as an attempt to solve a real problem.

The participants in the meeting thanked each other for the long-standing partnership so far and expressed their readiness to intensify the interaction in the future. “I accept you as my employers, who today wrote my short-term program for the coming months. I have nothing left but to start its implementation as quickly as possible,” Radosvet Radev concluded.