site.btaExpert on Oil-Bearing Rose Production in Bulgaria

In recent years, between 10,000 and 15,000 tonnes of rose flowers and between 2.5 and 4.5 tonnes of rose oil have been produced in Bulgaria. In 2020, this country exported nearly a tonne and a half of rose oil, according to data from the National Statistical Institute.

The main export destinations outside the European Union are the USA, Japan, South Korea.

After a severe crisis in 2021, when the price of rose flowers dropped below the cost of their production and many people abandoned the business, 2022 brings new hope. The rose flower rate per kilogram has almost doubled compared to 2021, and people have returned to the field.

Unfortunately, the state's years-long neglect for the sector, the lack of a targeted policy to protect Bulgarian producers and processors, have led to a number of problems, said in a BTA interview Vladimir Stoyanov, chair of the Bulgarian Rose Valley Association. 

In order to find their solution, the leading branch organizations in the "Rose production and essential oil crops" sector in this country united around a common goal - creating, adopting and implementing a strategy for the development of Bulgarian rose production and rose processing. Last week, the proposal was presented to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry undertook to initiate changes in the Oil-bearing Rose Act, which would incorporate the strategy and make it mandatory.

The highlights of the strategy proposed by the branch representatives include: introduction of conditional funding for farmers, including the sector in specialized programmes for hiring labour; linking government incentives and regulation to scientific research in order to preserve the quality of the rose flower and rose oil, and to drive innovation; restoring and expanding Bulgaria's positions on the foreign markets for oil-bearing rose products; establishing the rose as a symbol of Bulgaria and strengthening the relationship with tourism.