site.btaForum Discusses Challenges to Canning Industry on Bulgarian Canning Industry Day

The problems facing the canning industry were discussed during observances of the Day of the Bulgarian Canning Industry on Friday. The event was held at the University of Food Technologies in Plovdiv, and among the official guests were Plovdiv Regional Governor Vladislav Popov, Stoyko Kirovski, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Fruit and Vegetable Processors, and Prof. Dr. Eng. Desislav Balev, Vice-Rector for Project Activities and Business Partnership.

According to Kirovski, the main problems of the canning industry are related to the decline in the production of raw materials. “In Bulgaria, the areas planted with fruits and vegetables are becoming fewer and continue to decrease. Regarding fresh fruits and vegetables, 9 out of every 10 products sold in stores are imported,” he said.

He said that in 1989–1990, nearly 900,000 tonnes of canned goods were produced annually in Bulgaria, adding that production has now dropped to around 150,000 tonnes, about 50% of which is for export, while the rest is for the domestic market.

Another major issue in the sector is the lack of labor. “The remaining problems are related to markets, which are increasingly shrinking. As of today, we have focused on Europe, but their consumption of Bulgarian canned products is very low,” Kirovski said.

The Union includes about 30 factories, which produce around 70% of Bulgaria’s canned goods. According to Kirovski, Bulgarian enterprises produce very high-quality products, and the sector is significant for the country.

On April 3, 1899, the first Bulgarian canning factory was built in Varna. For two years prior, the young entrepreneur Pantalei Genov had studied the craft of producing canned food while working in factories in Belgium and France. Initially, the venture faced a number of difficulties, such as consumer distrust, shortage of raw materials, and others, but Genov did not give up. He simply moved production to Plovdiv. Success soon followed. After World War I, the high-quality vegetable and fruit preserves under the trademark “Hubavata Gradinarka” established themselves not only on the Bulgarian market but also abroad. An interesting fact is that in 1936, 10 tonnes of Bulgarian asparagus, produced in Katunitsa and canned in Genov’s factory, were delivered to the restaurant of the elite London hotel Ritz.