site.btaCompetition Watchdog Says Bulgarian Dairy Sector Is Struggling

Dairy imports have surged nearly 45% over the past five years, while raw cow’s milk production has dropped 25%, Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) Deputy Chair Zhelyo Boychev said on Tuesday, citing preliminary data from an interim analysis of the fast-moving consumer goods and agricultural products sector.

“The sector cannot meet Bulgarian consumers’ demand for dairy products, and the situation is dramatic,” Boychev said.

The data also shows steep declines across the sector over the past five years: dairy cow numbers fell 26%, sheep 46% and goats 42%. The number of livestock farms also shrank sharply, with cow and sheep holdings each down 66% and goat holdings down 70%. At the same time, milk production costs rose 27%.

“We owe Bulgarian society an answer as to why consumers in Bulgaria are paying some of the highest dairy prices even as local producers and processors struggle,” Boychev said.

According to CPC, State support could help improve the sector’s competitiveness.

“When we began analyzing the food sector, we did not expect such stark findings. The interim report points to the most severe distortions in milk production and dairy processing. Bulgaria, once a traditional producer and processor of milk and dairy products, now lags far behind European levels. We will use the full powers of the commission to open specific proceedings wherever we find a distorted competitive environment,” CPC Chair Rosen Karadimov said.

Also attending the press conference were Dimitar Zorov, chair of the Association of Dairy Processors in Bulgaria; CPC Deputy Chair Radomir Cholakov; Vladislav Mihaylov, chair of the National Association of Dairy Processors; Simeon Karakolev, co-chair of the National Sheep and Goat Breeders' Association; and Boryana Dimitrova, rector of the Agricultural University of Plovdiv.

Later on Tuesday, the CPC leadership will meet milk producers and dairy processors from across the country at the Agricultural University of Plovdiv as part of its in-depth review of the milk and dairy products sector.