The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Desislava Taneva and the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Dmitriy Parushev discussed the restrictions imposed on the import of Bulgarian plant products to Russia. This took place during Minister Taneva's official visit to Moscow. An expert meeting will be held as soon as possible between the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) and the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, within which the technical details will be cleared out. The aim is for Bulgarian companies to gain permission to export plant products to the Russian state that do not fall under the general ban on plant products by the EU.
The Ministers also discussed the African swine fever virus, which has affected both countries. It was arranged that experts from both countries would exchange information and good practices for dealing with the disease as a team from the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency visited Russia. Desislava Taneva informed the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation that a change is being made in the Bulgarian legislation, aiming to enhance biosecurity in farms.
During the meeting it became clear that by the end of the year Bulgarian dairy companies will be inspected by Russian experts. The aim of their visit is to approve a list of companies that will be able to export their production to Russia after the imposed embargo would be lifted.
The Ministers of Agriculture considered the good relations between Bulgaria and Russia and expressed the will to continue the constructive dialogue.
In 2018 the exchange of agricultural goods between the two countries amounted to USD 62.6 million. The export of Bulgarian goods for the Russian market increases by 19.4% compared to 2017, up to USD 54.4 million. In 2018 the positive balance of trade for Bulgaria reached USD 46.3 million, by 30.4% above the level of the previous year. Leading agricultural products in the Bulgarian export to the Russian market are predominantly tobacco, pasta products, chocolate, wine, etc.