site.btaFish Price in Small Towns is Compromise, Say Producers in Targovishte

Raising fish is a difficult process, Kiril Petrov, owner of the Medovina dam in the village of Medovina (Northeastern Bulgaria), told BTA on Thursday. He noted that the demand for fish in the days before St Nicholas Day is traditionally high.

People have been stocking up since the beginning of the week and there are few who leave the purchase for the last day, pointed out merchants at the market in Targovishte, adding that carp is the most sought after in 2024, with prices varying between BGN 9.50 per kilogram and BGN 14.50 for a cleaned one.

"The Bulgarian is a traditionalist and looks forward to having carp for dinner on St Nicholas Day," the merchants also noted. Petrov, who sells carp for BGN 10, stressed that the price in small towns like Popovo, where people know each other, is a compromise in order to satisfy both the producer and the buyer, adding that it is difficult to make a comparison with the sale prices in the big cities.

In addition to carp, Petrov also offers flounder at a price of BGN 8 and catfish at BGN 15, which are grown in the pond in Medovina. He has been managing and gradually improving the water body for over seven years. "We raise the fish from small larvae. We fatten them until they weigh from one to 1.5 kilogram. It is a difficult process, because the fish requires great care," he noted. The biggest fish in 2024 weighed 8 to 9 kg.

He stressed that feeding the fish becomes even more complicated in the summer, as high temperatures warm the water, oxygen decreases and the fish suffer. Therefore, human intervention and pumping of oxygen is required for aquatic species to survive. Petrov pointed out that a common problem for producers in recent years is permanent drought and water scarcity. "We are worried about the forecasts for heat and unacceptable prices in the next year as well," Petrov said. The price of fish has risen by an average of BGN 2 per kilogram for all types already, both producers and traders stated.