Bulgarian producers throw away cucumbers, potatoes, peaches, apricots, apples and pears, even though the year has a good harvest. This was stated by the chairman of the Branch Chamber “ Fruits and Vegetables“ Tsvetan Tsekov in the program “ This Morning“.
“The Bulgarian producer does not have direct access to the market. It was taken away from us“, said Tsekov. According to him, the agricultural producer does not profit from the sale, but receives the lowest price in the chain.
According to him, retail chains hold two-thirds of the retail distribution. Tsekov pointed out that the lack of policies and organized logistics for local production leaves the produce without a real market.
Criticism of retail chains
Tsekov described as unacceptable the request of retail chains to declare their sites as critical infrastructure, that is, to receive the status of sites of importance for national security.
He linked the problem with access to the market and the lack of food sovereignty. In his words, a good harvest does not guarantee income for producers when there is no working relationship between farms, logistics and the retail network.
His statement comes against the backdrop of the ongoing dispute over food prices and the distribution of value along the chain from the producer to the end consumer. Specific new measures to ensure direct access of producers to the market were not announced in the conversation.
Sources: novini.bg, btvnovinite.bg