site.btaBulgarian Export Navigator Created to Tap Foreign Trade Potential

Given the key role of exports in Bulgaria’s economic growth, the government is phasing in a digital platform called Bulgarian Export Navigator, which will improve the work of the staff of the trade and economic affairs services (TEAS) at Bulgarian embassies abroad. The facility is expected to provide new opportunities and support for Bulgarian exports, outgoing Minister of Economy and Industry Petar Dilov said, as quoted by his ministry on Friday.

The Bulgarian Export Navigator has been developed by the ministry with the assistance of a team from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). The platform is still at an early stage. It identifies the potential for export of more than 170 goods from Bulgaria to nearly 70 countries. It defines the market niches towards which the efforts of the TEAS should be directed to generate imports to these countries. The navigator also provides up-to-date information on the economic situation, programmes and opportunities for business financing and insurance to support exports, advance information on tariff and non-tariff changes, and basic trade information on international markets.

In addition to Dilov, the presentation was attended by Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Doncho Barbalov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Pavlov and representatives of BAS.

The economy minister stressed that the new platform creates conditions for the TEAS to become even more useful to Bulgarian businesses in entering new markets and strengthening their presence in existing ones. “Following our full membership in the eurozone and Schengen, the Bulgarian economy is more competitive. Now is the moment to reverse the trend and to diversify and increase exports,” Dilov said in his remarks.

“The creation of the Bulgarian Export Navigator is a first-of-its-kind development in Europe,” Deputy Economy and Industry Minister Doncho Barbalov emphasized at the meeting. For his part, Deputy Foreign Minister Nikolay Pavlov highlighted that the new tool will support joint work between institutions.

The Bulgarian Export Navigator contains three main modules: trade – with basic information on markets and export opportunities; export financing and insurance – with programmes and support schemes for companies; and economic information – with analyses of the state of the economy, sectoral analyses and forecasts.

The platform operates with analytical tools that also use artificial intelligence and provides an interactive link between the TEAS and the Ministry of Economy and Industry. The ultimate goal is to reach the existing export potential, which is estimated at USD 27 billion, and strengthen the presence of Bulgarian businesses on international markets.