The oil processing industry in Bulgaria processes 3.5 million tons of sunflower annually
With the policy of stopping the import of grain and other products from Ukraine, a huge blow is inflicted on vegetable oil processors in Bulgaria.
"They also buy Bulgarian production, as long as there is someone to sell it to them, only that some of the producers of this production do not sell it on the Bulgarian market", emphasized the president of BIA in an interview for NOVA NEWS.
According to Dobri Mitrev, our enterprises in the oil processing industry process 3.5 million tons of sunflower annually, and the entire production of Bulgaria for the last business year was 1,800,000, i.e., we have the ability to import. In the past years, Bulgaria imported sunflower seeds for processing from Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine.
"This is a product that is processed and goes mostly for export and brings added value that stays with us. We have to protect our national grain producers - there is no dispute about that, but that's why they should have met with the stakeholders beforehand and to look for an option so that there will be no harm for both producers and processors," stressed Mitrev.
Bulgaria has consistently been in the top three in terms of sunflower oil and sunflower seed exports in recent years, but for the first time in 2022 it will enter the top three of sunflower oil exporters.
Until 10 years ago, Bulgaria exported 80-85% of its raw materials, with the percentage of processed production increasing annually to reach the point where, according to data for the old harvest, around 600-630 thousand tons are produced, as 90-95 thousand tons are for domestic consumption and the rest is for export. The main market for sunflower oil is Europe, but already about 30-35% are exported to Africa. There are also Bulgarian exports to Asia - India, China and other countries.
