“The cost of production is increasing rapidly due to the conflict in Iran”, commented the chairman of the National Association of Grain Producers Iliya Prodanov on the air of NOVA NEWS. He emphasized that the sector is facing a serious lack of liquidity, and the growth in the price of the most popular nitrogen fertilizer is already over 35-40%.
Prodanov explained that the increase in price is due to the fact that the main raw materials for production - natural gas and ammonia - arrive from the conflict region. According to him, large consumers such as China and India are currently redirecting their efforts for supplies to our region, which further increases the cost of the resource for Bulgarian factories.
Grain producers expressed strong disappointment with the meeting held with the Prime Minister. “The meeting is late. We proposed a package of measures 20 days ago, and at the meeting itself we heard nothing – we were simply listened to. The measures announced on Friday by the Council of Ministers are extremely populist, ineffective and disrespectful to the “Agriculture” sector,”, said Prodanov. He gave an example of the measure on fuel excise duty, which, according to him, has been a fact since 2007 and is applied throughout Europe, and presenting it as new aid is “a distortion of reality”.
Regarding stocks, Prodanov reassured that there is currently no risk of a food crisis. “In Bulgaria, there are over 2 million tons of wheat available from an old harvest, which is enough for a year and a half ahead. There should be no concern about the quantity, the blow is entirely on the producers,”, he pointed out. Prodanov explained that while the price of wheat is at international stock exchange levels from 10 years ago, the costs of bread production are determined further down the chain, and it is there that processors have to say what the final effect will be for the consumer.
Farmers are demanding urgent access to funds, direct aid for fertilizers and fuels, as well as early payment of European subsidies within one to two weeks. The association's board of directors is meeting later today to decide whether to move to effective protest actions.