DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5
Supply Chain

Bulgaria Expects Good 2022 Wheat Crop, Strong Exports

By Dayeeta Das
Share this article
Bulgaria Expects Good 2022 Wheat Crop, Strong Exports

Bulgaria expects a good wheat crop in 2022, almost matching last year's record harvest, that will allow for ample exports, a senior agriculture ministry official has said.

"We expect the wheat crop to be close to last year's. Whether it would be 6.5 million tonnes or 6.7 million will depend on the condition of the sowings in different parts of the country," Petar Kirovski, who is in charge of grain crop sowings at the ministry, told Reuters in a phone interview.

The Black Sea country is among Europe's largest wheat exporters and reaped a record-high wheat crop of 7.1 million tonnes last year, up from 4.7 million tonnes in 2020, a particularly poor year, and 6.1 million tonnes in 2019.

Domestic Consumption

With an annual domestic consumption of about 1.5 million tonnes, Bulgaria has exported close to 5 million tonnes of its 2021 wheat crop so far, Kirovski said.

"Given the expected good harvest this year, there will be more than enough surplus grains for exports. Over 4 million tonnes can definitely be shipped abroad," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Balkan country's barley sowings were also in good condition and the expected crop will be close to last year's, when farmers took in over 680,000 tonnes of barley, he said.

Analysts and growers said last week that an exceptionally early heatwave in France and Spain may further stress wheat crops after a dry spring though an expected easing in temperature and showers across the region this month should avert large crop losses.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM – your source for the latest supply chain news. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.