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| Bulgaria preparing to enter the market of organic wines |
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The orientation of Bulgarian winemakers to organic production coincided with Bulgaria’s entry into the EU. The first certified organic vineyars appeared in 2007and 2008. And in 2010, at the traditional annual exhibition "Winery" in Plovdiv, there was a tasting event of the first Bulgarian wine collections produced organically. The total area of the vineyards certified for producing organic wine is still modest, but there is a clear trend towards expansion, Pepa Jivkova, expert in organic farming in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, told Radio Bulgaria.
The quantities of organic wine produced far are not significant, too.
“In 2012, the country had produced 489 tonnes of organic wine, indicates Mrs. Zhivkova. Five wineries are certified for this type of eco-drink - most of them are located in southern Bulgaria, and only one in the northern parts. In the vineyards for organic wines the most popular varieties grown are mainly the French and some Italian ones. As well as a local Bulgarian variety - Mavrud. We see a growing interest in directing to organic production among both smaller and larger wine producers in this country. Over the past few years we have seen an increase in areas with certified vineyards, confirming our expectation that soon many producers of conventional wines will also turn to organic production."
Statistical figures support these expectations of Mrs. Zhivkova. If certified organic vineyards in the country in 2012 were a little over 500 hectares, the new vineyards still in process of certification in the same year covered an area of 1404 ha, i.e over the next couple of years the areas of vineyards for organic wine will grow four times without considering the new crops that are yet to enter the certification process which lasts several years. Albena Simeonova is one of the pioneers of organic wine production in Bulgaria, the owner of the only organic wine cellar here so far, located in northern Bulgaria, near Nikopol. In her opinion, soon almost all Bulgarian wine producers will redirect to producing organic wines. There are all necessary conditions - clean nature and clean soil as well as long-standing traditions in the production of quality wines. Why shouldn’t they be upgraded to another level - to make them high-quality and organic, i.e. healthier? Moreover, the demand for organic wines globally is constantly increasing.
So far the first producers of this organic beverage in Bulgaria sell it on our domestic market and very few producers have markets in countries like Germany, Holland, and Greece. 009-2: “Currently, the export of Bulgarian organic wines for Europe is limited because we are still very bad in advertising. With the assistance of the Ministry of Health and Food we started participating in all exhibitions for organic products. This year we exhibited Bulgarian bio-wines during the "Green Week" in Germany, and we participated at Biofach in Nuremberg, which was held in parallel with the European meeting for boosting organic agriculture. We expect that by the end of the year we will get involved in several similar international forums. Among them, for example is the Organic Market held in June in Poland. For this purpose, however, we will have to unite as producers in order for Bulgaria to start serious export of organic wines and negotiate better prices because the Bulgarian organic products, including wine, are delicious, healthy, protect the environment, and fight against climate change. And because almost all organic farming activities are manual, we create employment, i.e. and we are helping to solve social problems in the country.
Slowly but surely, Bulgarian organic wine has won a good reputation on the European market. Evidence of this are facts like this that at the Annual Ball of the German economy at the end of January this year only Bulgarian wines were served, including organic varieties.
http://bnr.bg |
| Tuesday, Apr 16, 2013 |
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| » RENTALS |
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| Commercial |
€ 255 |
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| Location: |
Veliko Tarnovo |
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