March 1, 2011

Bulgaria reports 65,000 dairy farms do not reach EU standards

Between 60 000 and 65 000 dairy farms in Bulgaria do not fulfil the EU standards for hygiene, but 24,000 of them sell milk on the market, according to Bulgaria's Deputy Agriculture Minister Tsvetan Dimitrov.

"After we identified the farms, we decided on measures that would have to be implemented this year," he said. It was decided last week that the State Agriculture Fund should fund the diary sector.

"For the purpose, EUR80 million (US$110.7 million) will be provided from the Programme for Rural Development and BGN20 million (US$14 million) will be provided from the state budget as a loan," Dimitrov said.

He has explained that very farm owner who wants to improve the conditions in his farm will receive about 60-65% of the needed investment. Second and third category farms need about BGN20,000-40,000 (US$14,000-28,000) of investments, he added.

An informational campaign for stock breeders is scheduled to begin March 7. According to Dimitrov, experts from the Agriculture Ministry will explain to farmers what they should do in order to cover the minimum requirements.

"If farmers have started their investments, whether with funding from the State Agriculture Fund or not, even if they have not completed it within the respective year, their farms will not be closed. However, they will be forbidden to sell milk," he said.

2011 is the last year, in which farmers have to meet the European standards for hygiene of the milk.