Bulgaria occupies the 62nd place in the world export chart as electronics and fuels form the major part of this country’s exports. According to official national statistics, Bulgarian export in 2011 reached 20 billion euro. Despite it is a small country Bulgaria is a world leading exporter in a few sectors. This country was the second biggest exporter of copper products, goose meat and canned cherries in 2011. Bulgaria exports also a lot of scrap metal as well as zinc plates. In the past year the rise of export of Bulgarian electronic products, machines, and scrap metal was considerable. Just from the export of sunflower seed Bulgaria received some 700 million dollars. Revenues from goose meat reached 49 million euro while the export of scrap silver and other metals reached 560 million dollars. Copper products and refined petroleum fuels also top the Bulgarian export chart, as well as the export of electricity.
Bulgaria sells electricity mainly to Greece, Serbia, and Macedonia. The country is the 11 biggest exporter of grain in the world, as most of it goes to Spain and Italy. The export of Bulgarian pharmaceuticals has also been growing, statistics show. An analysis of the Bulgarian Industrial Association has revealed other interesting facts, such as the fact that export of parts for cigarette lighters has grown 12 times. This is so because the EU has introduced some measures against the imports of such products from Asia. Statistics also show that Bulgarian export to the EU market has actually decreased by 0.8% during the first half of 2012. Export to Belgium, Germany and Romania has decreased while Bulgarian goods are more often sold in Italy, France and Greece.
During times of crisis Bulgarian export remains the engine of the economy. Export to countries outside the EU has grown as main partners are Turkey, Russia, China, Serbia, and Macedonia. Local companies have been looking for opportunities for expansion to other markets and currently Bulgarian tobacco is sold well in the UAE. The Bulgarian Industrial Association also says that companies should keep looking for markets outside the EU. According to experts, Bulgaria has not fully used its potential for export to Turkey. Analysts say that along the path to EU Membership of the Western Balkans the role of these countries on the market will start to grow. That is why Bulgaria should continue looking for new markets and keep stable its positions on markets like Germany, France, and Italy.
English version: Alexander Markov
