Vencislav Kaymakanova, president of the National Association of potato growers, said that prospects for the current season are pretty negative, as the yield will be about 50% smaller than last year. "It will be a great achievement if we manage to produce between 80 and 100 thousand tonnes," said Kaymakanova.
Bad weather conditions have had a very negative impact, with many areas affected by heavy rains and subsequent flooding during the planting, as well as droughts at a later stage.
"The situation is similar in many parts of the country," affirms Kaymakanova; "and prices for now are quite low, of between 0.35 and 0.40 Lev per kilo (0.18-0.20 Euro). In stores they are sold for 0.80 to 1.20 Lev per kilo (0.41-0.61 Euro). Kaymakanova expects prices to rise slightly when the weather gets colder in the coming months, but this will not have a major impact on buyers.
