site.btaInstitute of Roses Director Predicts Good Harvest, Labour Shortage

If the mild spring weather holds up, Bulgaria will have a good oil-bearing rose harvest this year, BTA learned from Associate Professor Ganka Baeva, Director of the Institute of Roses, Essential and Medical Cultures of Kazanlak (Central Bulgaria).

Bulgaria has nearly 5,000 hectares planted with oil-bearing rose, according to the Institute. Nearly half of the plantations are identified areas planted with Bulgarian rose (Rosa damascena and Rosa alba). They are located in the municipalities of Karlovo, Kazanlak, Pavel Banya and Strelcha.

A month before the usual start of rose picking in mid-May, Baeva identified three problems facing rose growers this year: the usual serious shortage of labour; one-day contracts, which hamper the hiring of flower pickers; and the purchase price of rose flowers.

Alarmingly, rose plantations across the country tend to be abandoned or uprooted, the Institute said.

In 2021, rose flower yields dropped by 33 per cent from 2020, and rose oil output was 5 per cent down. Last year rose flowers sold in the range of 1.5 to 1.8 leva per kilogram, while the production cost was 2 leva/kg, Baeva said. Given this year's inflation rate, she predicted that the production cost may well reach 3 leva/kg.