Bulgaria and China will work actively to promote and facilitate bilateral trade in agricultural products. The Minister of Agriculture and Food, Dr. Georgi Tahov, and the Deputy Minister of the General Administration of Customs of China, Mr. Wu Haiping, who is visiting Bulgaria, agreed upon this. The delegation's visit is at the invitation of the Minister of Agriculture and Food.
During the talks, Minister Tahov noted that, as a result of strong bilateral cooperation, the protocols signed to date and the approved sanitary certificates, trade relations between Bulgaria and China have been showing steady growth.
He added that the Agriculture Ministry, together with the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) and GACC, is actively finalizing approval procedures for exporting a number of Bulgarian agricultural and food products. To date, 39 procedures have been initiated, 12 of which have already been successfully completed with the necessary documents and certificates approved. “The Ministry considers as a priority the completion of the procedures for the export of Bulgarian wheat, rapeseed meal and animal protein-containing feed. We are awaiting a response from the Chinese side regarding the current stage of their consideration," specified Minister Tahov.
Deputy Minister Wu Haiping expressed his satisfaction with the results of the long-standing cooperation between Bulgaria and China, which has spanned more than 70 years. He reaffirmed China’s readiness to increase its investment presence in Bulgaria and underlined the growing interest among Chinese consumers in Bulgarian products, including rose oil.
At the end of the meeting, the two sides signed a Protocol on Inspection and Sanitary Requirements for Wild Aquatic Products Intended for Export from Bulgaria to China. They also signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the Association for the Promotion of Agricultural Cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European Countries and the China–CEEC Customs Information Centre, aimed at strengthening information exchange between the parties.
The China’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, Dai Qingli, Bulgaria’s Deputy Agriculture Minister Dr Lozana Vasileva, and BFSA Executive Director Dr Svetlozar Patarinski.
The General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China is a key border agency of the country. Chinese Customs is responsible for traditional customs procedures, as well as border health checks, inspections and quarantine for the import and export of animals, plants and their products, food safety during their import and export, and inspection of goods.