The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry will propose a measure to stimulate operators to buy, prepare and process Bulgarian cherries, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Desislava Taneva said during a meeting with producers and processors of cherries in Bulgaria, conducted via videoconferencing. She added that all those all those who increase the quantities bought in by registered farmers and pay the production accordingly will be able to receive support per tonne.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, pressure is expected on the market and reduced demand, in this situation it is necessary to have an increased by about 30 percent of the buyout by the operators for export of fresh or canned cherry, Minister Taneva explained. It has urged processors to increase their buyout volumes as most have storage options.
The decision on this support is expected to be adopted this week at a meeting of the Management Board of the State Fund Agriculture.
The meeting was held on the initiative of the ICG on the occasion of the upcoming cherry harvesting campaign. Minister Taneva pointed out that at the moment the condition of the cherry plantations in the country is good and a good harvest is expected. She stressed that everything needed for the agricultural sector was provided during the state of emergency.
The need to provide workers during harvesting with masks, gloves and protective clothing was another topic also discussed at the meeting. Minister Taneva recalled that, on a proposal from Bulgaria, the Commission will provide support for producers through the compensatory measure “COVID-19".
"It will only pay the costs incurred by the farmers because of the pandemic. The measure is currently being discussed at European Parliament level. It will be made available to producers according to easy to prove criteria that will be programmed,” she also said, specifying that the debate on this measure is expected to conclude by the end of May. Implementation of the measure will be discussed with the industry.