EU Producers Must Compete on Equal Terms on Bulgarian Market - Minister

Bulgaria's caretaker Economy and Energy Minister Asen Vasilev attended Saturday the opening of the Agroproducts Expo 2013 in Plovdiv. Photo by BGNES

Asen Vasilev, caretaker Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, has suggested that retail chains must offer more Bulgarian products, while local producers must find out what is in demand to be able to sell their output better.

Vasilev's statement, as cited by Radio Plovdiv, came at the opening of the first of its kind meeting and expo organized in support of small and medium-sized Bulgarian businesses.

Agroproducts Expo 2013 is the first of a series of initiatives of the caretaker government aimed at encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises in a time of crisis.

The aim of the platform is to enable companies to receive more information about the standards their products must meet in order to make it to the stores of retail chains and also about export and funding opportunities.

Agroproducts Expo 2013 brings together 117 Bulgarian producers and representatives of the eight major chains of stores operating in the country, of 8 banks and 5 certifying companies, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

"I believe that the terms must be absolutely equal for all producers in the EU," Vasilev stated, adding that it was important to make sure that all participants were placed on an equal footing, i.e. that small companies were not subject to arm-twisting by big firms.

"It is also very important that the participants in this process sit down together and reach an agreement. I believe that this is beginning to happen, taking into account that it is always better to find a solution through talks than to embark on a path of cumbersome administrative steps and penalties," Vasilev declared in Plovdiv.

He informed that a second expo of that kind was scheduled to take place on April 27 in Veliko Tarnovo.

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