Bulgaria: Potato growers in Smolyan affected by cheap imports
Tens of tonnes of potatoes in the Bulgarian municipality of Smolyan are at risk of spoiling due to lack of market opportunities and low purchase prices. These are the reasons why the number of potato producers in the area is falling every year.
A major obstacle for the sale of the production is reported to be the low price of imported potatoes, which seriously undercuts the market. The situation is similar in the town of Momchilovtsi, which is famous for its good quality potatoes. According to Kostadin Velichkov, who has been a producer for 15 years, people are now being forced to sell their production at really low prices, as the only alternative to dump them into a landfill. It has been made clear that if the producer does not sell a kilo of potatoes for between 0.70 and 0.80 Lev (0.36-0.41 Euro), a loss is suffered. This estimation takes the production costs into account, including fertilisers, chemicals, spraying, ploughing, etc.
"For years, imported potatoes have been ruining the market for our growers; it has become extremely difficult to produce potatoes here. The production of any crop in the mountains is much harder than in regular fields. The plots here are fragmented and the handling extremely difficult," said the Mayor of. Momchilovci, Siyka Surkov. With warmer weather, potatoes have started to rot, although producers are looking for alternative ways to store them.
According to growers in Momchilovci, foreign producers can afford to sell their potatoes at lower prices because they receive higher subsidies. Currently, such potatoes can be found in the market for between 0.40 and 0.50 Lev per kilo (0.20-0.26 Euro).
Fuente: http://www.freshplaza.com/article/153237/Bulgaria-Potato-growers-in-Smolyan-affected-by-cheap-imports
