Bulgaria: Persistent trend for increase of processed milk
The quantity of milk processed by Bulgarian dairy plants is showing a steady increase. It is biggest for goat milk, at 12%, according to Agriculture Ministry statistics. Direct sales totaled 275,862,000 l in 2020.
![Milk](/binaries/medium/content/gallery/agroberichtenbuitenland/content-afbeeldingen/o/oekraine/old-2019_nieuws/milk_production.jpg)
The total milk output in Bulgaria
The total milk output in Bulgaria in 2020 was 975,810,000 l. Of that, 275,862,000 l was direct sales, own consumption and other uses in the farms. Producers and processers making direct supplies of small quantities of raw produce, sold 81,089,000 l of raw or processed milk, which included 68,854,000 l of cow’s milk (84.9%) and 8,588,000 l sheep milk (10.6%).
Raw milk
Raw milk sold directly to consumers totaled 50,680,000 l and the processed milk 30,409,000 l. The direct sales included also 1,509 t white brined cheese, 320 t of yellow cheese, 4,526 t of yoghurt and other dairy products.
The recent years are seeing a persistent upward trend with the quantity of milk processed in Bulgaria. In 2020, it stood at 717 mln t for raw milk (including supplies from EU member states and imports from third countries), which is a growth of 5% from 2019.
Cow’s milk had the lion’s share. In 2020, sheep milk came second with a share of 3.5%, which was a growth of 7.8% year-on-year.
Goat milk was third but the increase there was 12% compared to 2019. The output of buffalo and mixed milk decreased by 6.3%.
The quantity of raw milk imported from EU member states and third countries, that was processed in Bulgaria, stood at close to 17,000 t.
![Bulgarian cheese and yoghurt](/binaries/medium/content/gallery/agroberichtenbuitenland/content-afbeeldingen/b/bulgarije/2021_nieuws/cheese-and-yoghurt.jpg)
The output of white brined cheese from cow’s milk grew by 5.7% and of yellow cheese by 7.6% compared to 2019.
In 2020, the sales of dairy processing companies totaled BGN 1.26 billion, which was 10% more than in 2019.
Source: Agri.bg