Bulgaria and Romania are in the last two places in the EU's ranking for the largest consumers of fresh fruits and vegetable, as reported in its bulletin by the Centre for Economic Analysis in Agriculture (CAPA) of the Institute of Agricultural Economics.
According to Eurostat data for 2014, 65% of Romanians and 59% of Bulgarians over the age of 15 do not consume fruits and vegetables daily.
On average in the EU, only 34% of people don't consume fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, with the main reasons being their income and education.
Looking specifically at Bulgaria, it is noted that, in 2015, the per capita consumption fell to about 190 kg of vegetables (fresh, processed, frozen), which is 4% less than in 2014 and 12 percent less than in 2000.
The bulletin also notes that, in 2016, the acreage devoted to tomatoes had decreased by 4.4% and that of peppers by 11%.
This year, the country has produced 110 thousand tonnes of tomatoes and 58 thousand tonnes of peppers.
Vegetable imports have continued to exceed exports significantly. Over the last 2-3 years, Bulgaria has recorded a strengthening of imports, with the most significant increase being observed in tomatoes.
Purchase prices and wholesale prices of tomatoes in the summer months of the year were almost 50% higher than last year.
Vegetable prices usually increase in October; wholesale cucumber prices are up by about 28%, and further increases are expected in November.
Source: investor.bg
