First Netherlands Fruit Basket visit to Bulgaria
Six Dutch companies explored opportunities for long-term partnerships with key stakeholders from the northern part of Bulgaria.
Partners for International Business cluster Netherlands Fruit Basket Bulgaria had its first business trip to the country. Between 1st and 5th of April, headed by EVERS international and guided by the program liaison Smart Agrostart, six cluster companies - BVB, Fleuren, Puijk Group, FrostFans, NetTeam and VGB Watertechniek , travelled across Bulgaria from west to east. They visited apple, pear, plum, cheery, sour cherry, apricot, peach, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry growers and stakeholders in the provinces of Sofia, Lovech, Targovishte, Silistra and Dobrich.
During the visit the companies gained first-hand impressions of growth potential and challenges in Bulgarian fruit production. They explored opportunities for knowledge and technology transfer and laid foundations for fruitful long-term partnerships. Productivity, quality, sustainability, protection from adverse weather events, modern varieties and growing techniques, labor shortages, efficiency in water and resource management were among the many topics discussed, where both sides identified potential for future cooperation.
Yablena Natura, Bulgarian Association of Raspberry and Soft Fruit Growers, Otbrani, Rodina-Popovo, Danube Fruit, Fruktalina and EcoAgro, along with other Bulgarian fruit producers, processors and stakeholders hosted the business delegation, shared their views on market and production trends and also told the group about their future development plans and goals. And Netherlands Fruit Basket Bulgaria openly shared their experience, knowledge and know-how.
This summer, Netherlands Fruit Basket Bulgaria will organize a group of Bulgarian growers and stakeholders for a week-long study trip to the Netherlands and show some of the world’s most advanced and sustainable technologies and practices in fruit growing. And later this year, another business delegation and networking event is planned in Bulgaria.
The Netherlands Fruit Basket Bulgaria is a Partners for International Business 3-year long public-private partnership between a cluster of fifteen companies - Agro Manager,AWETA, BATO, BVB, Fall Creek, Fleuren, GEERLOFS, Genson, Hol Spraying, Netteam, Puijk Group, FrostFans, Van Oostrum, Verbeek, VGB Watertechniek, and Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). The aim of this PIB is to position the Netherlands as partner in sustainable technology and knowledge from state-of-the-art plant materials, through production to post-harvest treatment and storage in Bulgarian fruit sector.
Given the Bulgarian ambitions to double the harvest by 2030, knowledge exchange and cooperation is crucial as a basis for the delivery of services, knowledge and research, technologies and products during and after the term of the PIB. Now is the time to show ourselves. Dutch technology and knowledge are highly regarded in Bulgaria.
Sofia LNV Attaché Netwerk (LAN) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bulgaria facilitate the cluster initiatives, since they have identified the significant growth potential in Bulgarian horticulture and are dedicated to help enabling it.