Agricultural cooperation between Bulgaria and Turkey to enhance through the creation of a working group, which will start work in mid-March. That is what Minister of Agriculture and Food Desislava Taneva and Turkish Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock Mehmet Eker agreed during a meeting in Ankara. Minister Taneva is paying a visit to Turkey at the invitation of her Turkish counterpart. The meeting was also attended by MP Prof. Ivan Stankov and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency's Deputy Director, Dr. Damyan Iliev.
During the meeting the two ministers discussed the opportunities for renewing the export of cattle and small ruminant animals from Bulgaria to Turkey. "It is an important to re-open market and remove obstacles for bilateral trade. Bulgarian animals are healthy and the sector has very good opportunities for development given the financial assistance it is eligible for under the new OP Rural Development,” said Minister Taneva. She added that animal breeding sector is a priority in the Ministry’s policy. In his turn, Mehmet Eker said that cooperation in the field of agriculture will have a positive impact on its development in both countries. The Turkish side brought up the issue of the difficulties in exporting and the high transit fees for fresh fruits and vegetables through Bulgaria towards EU countries.
During her visit Minister Desislava Taneva will attend a conference on the implementation of “Agricultural Monitoring and Information System." The system contains information for all 5 million farmers on the territory of Turkey.