August 10, 2007

Bulgaria to import extra corn after weather hits harvest

Bulgaria is seeking to import up to 1 million tonnes of corn after heat waves and floods sharply cut the country's annual grain crop, the government said Thursday (August 9).

Deputy Agriculture Minister Svetla Bachvarova travelled to neighbouring Hungary Thursday to negotiate a corn import deal.

Agriculture Minister Nihat Kabil has assured Bulgarians they will not face shortages. But the grain shortfall has increased the price of bread by more than 20 percent - causing widespread discontent in a country with one of the lowest living standards in the European Union.

Extreme weather has reduced the annual wheat crop from 3.2 million tonnes last year to an estimated 2.2 million tonnes in 2007, according to government estimates.

Vasil Simov, director of the Sofia Commodity Exchange, said wheat is selling at around 400 leva (US$280) a tonne, compared with 200 leva this time last year.

Officials have refrained from giving estimates on the expected corn harvest, saying it is too early, but farming experts say corn has been harder hit than wheat by the weather.