Today three are the subsectors with a potential to attract investments in agriculture: quality wine production, milk processing, and fruit and vegetable processing, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Dr. Tzvetan Dimitrov. In his opening exposé at an international conference entitled "Creation of a Transnational Network for Processing of Agricultural Products and Food" in Hotel “Forum Central", Deputy Minister said that Bulgaria has its own competitive advantages for agricultural production in terms of climate and natural conditions, as well as long-standing traditions, and should put them to good use Joint investment in processing, packaging and logistics with partners from the Adriatic-Danube Region countries will lead to even more successful business practices. Deputy Minister Dimitrov pointed oit that such projects would be good for ensuring the sector's sustainable territorial balance in Southeastern Europe and would encourage the development of large-scale public-private investments.As the EU economies are emerging from the serious crisis, such projects can be extremely successful and can bring considerable dividends to all countries of the region, said Ugo Poli, a representative of the Region of Veneto in Northern Italy, one of the people who floated the idea to create a cluster in the Adriatic-Danube Region.
The transnational network is part of a larger project with four planks of cooperation: processing of agricultural products, mechanization systems, logistics, and modern housing construction and furniture. The countries involved in the project are Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
George Tabakov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Economic Forum, organizer of the event, added that the signing of a joint cluster agreement is only the beginning of this process, which must continue making intensive contacts not only in terms of total trade, but also the exchange of good practices and innovations.