21. Assessment of the state and opportunities for development of the organic products market in Bulgaria

Bulgaria has the necessary conditions for a rapid and extensive development of organic farming, which is a prerequisite for its transformation into a leading business line. Bulgarian organic market is in the stage of inception and there are not official statistics of the trade in organic products yet. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine and assess the state and opportunities for development of organic market in Bulgaria, in comparison with some of the developed European countries. Thus, the level of the current state of Bulgarian organic market is assessed.
The estimation of the sales of organic products and their accompanying problems helps to highlight ways to improve the quality of organization and management and economic efficiency of organic farming.
Some of the main results of the study are as follows: despite the slight rate increases in consumption, the market for organic products in Bulgaria is not sufficiently developed; about 90% of the currently produced in Bulgaria and certified organic products such as essential plants, herbs, vegetables and honey are exported mainly to Western European countries; the share of the sales on the Bulgarian organic market is below 1%; the higher price of organic products is a major obstacle to Bulgarian consumers; however, there are real opportunities to increase consumption of organic products in Bulgaria.