“The dairy industry faces a host of problems but there is one big problem that is coming to a head this very moment - the danger of the spread of infectious nodular dermatitis, innocuous to humans but deadly to cattle. If this epidemic were to spread, the dairy industry in Bulgaria will disappear altogether very quickly. Adding to this the overproduction of dairy products in the EU and the low prices, the situation acquires catastrophic proportions.”

That is how Simeon Prisadashki, deputy-chairman of the Association of Dairy Processors in Bulgaria describes the situation in the dairy sector. The infection comes from Greece and Turkey. Containing it is a difficult thing and the measures put in place must be wide-ranging. The farmers whose livestock was destroyed came out in the streets to protest. They accused the Food Safety Agency of failing to take steps in time - such as preventive disinfection - and demanded compensation. Yesterday, 20 April it transpired that the government is granting an additional 7.5 million euro for combating the epidemic whose outbreak was first registered on 13 April but now there are 13 more focuses. Minister of Agriculture and Food Desislava Taneva stated that Bulgaria has asked the European Commission for 350,000 doses of vaccine for all cattle on the territory of Southern Bulgaria. The first 150,000 doses should arrive next week. According to EU regulations, no preventive inoculation against dermatitis is allowed, while vaccination will mean a 3-year restriction on the output from the vaccinated animals. 100,000 euro in compensations was earmarked for the owners of the livestock destroyed. Most farmers say, however, that they do not want financial compensation, but compensation in livestock, as the money would not cover the damages incurred.

Nodular dermatitis aside, there are other problems in the sector, like the abolition of quotas in dairy production a year ago and overproduction in the EU:

“There is an oversupply of dairy products in Europe at extremely low prices and dead stock. This is killing dairy production in the country - these are processes that fully affect us. But the question should be resolved at a European, not a national level,” says Simeon Prisadashki.

In search of a solution the European Commission set about finding niches for European dairy products on the markets of China, Vietnam, Indonesia… European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan went on a tour of Columbia and Mexico in February, accompanied by a business delegation that included dairy producers from Bulgaria. How does Simeon Prisadashki view initiatives such as this?

“It sounds somewhat exotic. New markets are actually the well-known old markets. We closed up one major market - the Russian one. Bulgaria does not export milk to Russia in any significant quantities, but is indirectly connected with this problem. Overproduction in Europe has led to an oversupply on the Bulgarian market and higher competition.”

Another problem that is comparatively new to the country is the increase in the share of imitation products. Can Bulgarian consumers identify high-quality products?

“Yes, they can, it is quite another matter, however, whether they can afford them. In big cities there is a nutrition awareness and people can afford better quality food. But in smaller towns and villages it is a question of survival not choice. The quality of Bulgarian dairy products has not declined, the problem arises when the demand is for the lowest prices possible. And I am not just talking about imitation products, but also about the “no name” brands at supermarkets which are pressing manufacturers to sell at the lowest price possible. And, as you know the price is inversely proportional to the quality.”

How can the dairy industry in Bulgaria survive when there is an oversupply? According to Mr. Prisadashki, we could take Greece, for example, where preference is given to their own, traditional products, or Italy, where the problem of unfair competition has been resolved, whereas in this country “there is more unfair competition than there is fair competition”. What portion of the market does unfair competition account for? Simeon Prisadashki:

 “Not to distress you, but for 2015, official figures show that 500, 000 litres of raw milk have been bought from farmers, whereas the overall production is around one million litres. You can do the math yourselves.”

English version: Milena Daynova