The National Association of Bulgarian Vine Growers (NABVG) has announced that around 500 of its members from across the country will stage a two-hour protest in the afternoon of November 7 outside the Ministry of Agriculture building in Sofia. The organization is urging the ministry and the National Assembly to pay attention to the country's wine sector, which has been going through one of its worst periods in recent years.
The NABVG protests against the lack of any transparency and systemic approach in the work of the Ministry of Agriculture. "There is no methodology, there are no up-to-date technology maps, measures are written by officials without any communication with the industry, as a result of which financial sanctions from Brussels are continuously suffered and the funds fail to achieve the set objectives. At the meetings of the thematic working groups, decisions are made in advance by the ministry, and the industry is invited pro forma," the association explains.
According to them, the ministry lacks policies and an overall vision for the survival and development of Bulgarian viticulture: work is being done piecemeal and the ultimate goal is to finish the year at a minimum loss.
The NABVG adds that the existing Wine and Spirit Drinks Act has not been synchronised with the European Commission, which is mandatory, as it contains technical regulations. In addition, it does not meet the needs of the industry, and there are no adopted regulations for its implementation.
The association identifies as other important problems the lack of protection by the state of domestic grapes during harvest from subsidized imports, and the continued reluctance of the Ministry of Agriculture to make viticulture a priority sector.
The NABVG points out that Bulgaria is last in the EU in subsidising viticulture with EUR 13.50 per acre per year, while in other member states subsidies reach EUR 200-300, which puts Bulgarian vine growers in an extremely uncompetitive position.
/NZ/
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