Bulgaria 2010 Meat Consumption Record in Past Decade

Pictured: traditional slaughtering of a domestic pig in a Bulgarian village household. The raising of animals for household consumption is still wide-spread in rural Bulgaria. Photo by BGNES

By the end of the year, Bulgaria will register its highest per capita consumption of meat in the last 11 years, according estimates based on recent data.

According to data of the National Statistical Institute and estimates of a meat-processing company, Mekom AD Silistra, the per capita meat consumption in Bulgaria will reach 47 kg by the end of 2010, including 32 kg of meat and 15 kg of meat products.

The new record is in contrast with the lowest meat consumption that Bulgarians saw in 2001, when it amounted to only 31 kg per person (21 kg of meat and 10 kg of meat products).

"Our analyses show that the Bulgarians' standard of living is rising slowly and gradually over the years. Apparently, not even the economic crisis prevented people from eating more meat. We expect this trend to continue since Bulgaria is falling behind the developed Western markets," said Stefan Raychev, owner of Mekom.

The average per capita meat consumption in Germany, France and Italy is about 90 kg, reaching 110 kg in Spain.

Serbia is in the lead in Eastern Europe with 80 kg per person, Greece – 70 kg, Romania – over 60 kg; Turkey – 25 kg.

Mekom AD Silistra is the fourth largest Bulgarian company and the 17th largest in the Balkans in the food-processing sector. It registered a turnover of BGN 68 M in 2009; it employs about 650 people.

More than 65% of its produce is exported in the rest of the EU as well as in Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Albania, and some Middle East countries.

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