In the chilly spring along the Black Sea coast, as far as the eye can see, the fertile lands have already passed the harvesting season and are currently lying fallow. On the eve of the Spring Festival, reporters traveled to Bulgaria for an interview on China-Bulgaria agricultural cooperation. "The corn and other crops in the fields have all been harvested now. The farmers' grains are being transported by trucks to factories for processing. It's all mechanized operation, so the farmers don't have to exert much effort," explained Jiang Jingyun, the person in charge of Bulgaria Tianshinong Feed Co., Ltd., who accompanied the reporters.
Bulgaria has superior natural conditions with fertile soil and abundant sunshine, making it an important grain producer in the central and southern regions of Europe.
"I clearly remember that it was in June 2015 when the China-CEEC Association on Promoting Agricultural Cooperation was officially established, with its operational body based in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Seizing the opportunity, we established the Bulgaria Tianshinong Feed Co., Ltd. with our partners in the suburbs of Dobrich, a northeastern city of Bulgaria," said Jiang Jingyun. In 2018, the company was officially put into operation, and today it stands as one of the largest feed processing enterprises in Bulgaria.
"We purchase raw materials locally for processing, and the finished products are shipped to China by sea. The feed can be directly used in farms." said Nadia, the General Manager of the company who is Bulgarian and has visited China many times for investigation. She led the reporters to the company's factory area, where trucks were lined up at the entrance waiting for unloading. A local employee named Nina, responsible for the first quality inspection process, skillfully operated a remote controller to sample products. After sampling, the raw materials will be transported to the silo area for feed production.
"The warehouse currently holds over 2,000 tons of finished feed, soon to be transported to the nearby port of Varna. Within 45 days, the shipment will reach ports in China such as Huangpu Port in Guangdong, Xiamen Port in Fujian, and Xin Port in Tianjin, before being delivered to customers' farms," Nadia explained, displaying her deep familiarity with the factory's production capacity and export processes.
Wheat, corn, rapeseed meal and other raw materials are purchased locally, and nearly 30 local employees are employed for production. In Jiang Jingyun's view, the high-quality agricultural raw materials in Bulgaria are highly complementary to China's vast market, and his company has also brought tangible benefits to local people. "For this reason, the company has received support from the local government and people since its establishment."
Agriculture is one of the key areas of cooperation between China and Bulgaria, with Bulgarian rose products, red wine, yogurt, and other products becoming increasingly popular among Chinese consumers. In recent years, agricultural product trade between China and Bulgaria has seen rapid growth. According to Chinese customs statistics, by 2023, the trade volume of agricultural products between Bulgaria and China reached 5.084 billion yuan, representing an 85.9% year-on-year increase. Bulgaria has emerged as China's largest agricultural product trade partner in the central and eastern European regions.
"China-Bulgaria cooperation has vast potential." Bogdan Bogdanov, the Minister of Economy and Industry of Bulgaria expressed in an interview that he hoped more Chinese enterprises would come to invest and develop in Bulgaria.
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of this website. The Chinese version shall prevail.