Newsflash Week 11, 2022
- Operation Grain in Bulgaria during the #UkraineWar: mission possible.
- The success story of a fertilizer maker in Bulgaria.
- Eastern Europe’s first aquaponic centre opens in Bulgaria
and more in our latest Agri NewsFlash Week.
Enjoy it!
Bulgaria’s Grain Operation
Bulgaria is trying to get a better price for grain and make sure it has enough grain in the event of future emergencies. This country is a net grain exporter: in 2020 it was the 13th biggest producer with close to 3.2 million t of sales abroad worth nearly USD 700 million. One reason for the considerable export is that the quantity produced every year is several times more than what the domestic market can absorb, which is 1.5 to 1.7 million t (including human consumption, animal feed and seed). The last harvest was a four-year high of 7.2 million t. Because of the war in Ukraine, the State decided to intervene on the grain market and buy from producers and traders some 1.1 million t of wheat, maize and sunflower for subsistence for years ahead, reported Capital.
Agropolychim: European success story of a fertilizer maker
Agropolychim, a leading producer of nitrogen fertilizers in the Balkans, has made several successful investments in recent years. Transitioning from gas to ammonia, building a steam plant running on biomass and a grain terminal where the company invested some BGN 170 million have provided valuable alternatives during a crisis, the Executive Director and owner of the Devnya-based fertilizer maker, Philippe Rombaut, told Capital weekly. A total of BGN 400 million have already been invested in the factory with several more projects underway. One of the key investments in the recent years is the construction of a EUR 50 million terminal for ammonia that will replace natural gas as a raw material for the production of fertilizers.
Eastern Europe’s first aquaponic centre opens in Bulgaria
Eastern Europe’s first aquaponic centre opened by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in the Thracian University in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian News Agency reported. The first production cycle is due to start in the spring of 2022 and the first products are expected to reach the Bulgarian market in the autumn of this year. The annual output is estimated at 120,000 pieces of organic greens and some 3 t of fish of top quality and taste. The project’s uniqueness is in being the first to use an aquaponic technology in Bulgaria. It is based on systems from the leader in the aquaponic industry, Nelson and Pade”, Inc.®.
What is the most sought-after sunflower in Bulgaria?
In the recent months, farmers have purchased close to 7 t of three sunflower hybrids selected at the Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute, Agri.bg reports. Farmers in the northeastern Dobrudzha region, which is Bulgaria’s granary, usually plant 90,000 ha of sunflower fields. One of the hybrids, which is attracting strong interest among farmers is the Krasela hybrid, which is produced by the Institute and approved by the Plant Variety Control Agency. Due to its unique characteristics, the hybrid was awarded an innovation diploma at the AGRA 2022 international agricultural exhibition. “This hybrid combines a potential for high yield, high oil content and, most importantly, resistance to all Orobanche species,” said the director of the Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute, Ilia Iliev.
A hotspot of bovine tuberculosis liquidated in southern Bulgaria
The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency has liquidated a hotspot of bovine tuberculosis in the southern region of Pazardjik. The disease was established in two livestock farms in the village of Debrushtitsa. 55 cattle were slated for culling. The milk produced and stored on the two farms was seized to be destroyed in an incinerator and no batches have gone for dairy processing. Sale of raw milk to dairy processing facilities was banned.