Bulgarian PM Borisov Recommends Raising Food, Mineral Water Production to Achieve Economic Growth

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov presented his vision about Bulgaria's economic growth at the opening of a conference on a sector-based strategy for attracting investment to the country. Photo by BGNES.

Bulgaria could achieve economic growth if it stepped up food and water production, explained Prime Minister Borisov at the opening of a conference on a sector-based strategy for attracting investment to the country.

According to Borisov, an increase in real GDP could not be driven by "the privatization of mobile operators, shopping malls, or renewable energy sources".

"If there is no crude oil, you can walk. If there is no electricity, you can light a candle. If there is no food or water, you die", argued Borisov in defense of his earlier statement.

According to the Prime Minister, Bulgaria should use the opportunity to raise foood and mineral water production to meet the global glut. He suggested that the vast tracts of deserted land in the country should be cultivated.

Regarding Labor and Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov's proposal for compensating pensioners for the rising prices, Borisov stated that he was eager to raise pensions, but that the possibilities for doing this would become clear in mid-June.

Borisov drew attention to the construction of hydro-power plants as an investment opportunity. He also said that Bulgaria should strive to build a second nuclear power plant.

"If, four years from now, Turkey has four nuclear reactors, while we have a purchasing price of BGN 800 for energy from renewable energy sources, how would we measure the competitiveness of the two economies?", Borisov insisted.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister also emphasized on the opportunities for building new ski tracks in a bid to boost tourism. To prove his point, he said that the world's biggest factory for ski equipment was in the Southern Bulgarian town of Chepelare. Against that backdrop, Bulgaria has no more than 100-200 km of ski tracks, compared to Austria's more than 20 000 km.

Growth could not be achieved instantly, Borisov concluded, because the state had been struggling to survive for 20 years.

Speaking at the same conference, Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traycho Traykov recommended developing sectors of the economy that were most likely to create a large number of jobs.

He pinpointed the following sectors as promising: electronics, transport machinery production, the chemical industry, food and drinks industry, logistics, health and the pharmaceutical industry, clean technologies and biotechnologies.

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