site.btaJanuary-September Exports Rise by 14%, Y/Y

Sofia, November 21 (BTA) - Between January and September 2017, Bulgarian exports increased by 14 per cent compared with January-September 2016, reaching 19.6 billion euro. This puts the country among the EU's top five in terms of export growth, Deputy Economy Minister Luchezar Borissov said on Tuesday, citing Eurostat data.

Borissov was speaking at a roundtable discussion entitled "Is There Neo-protectionism on the Horizon?", organized by the Higher School of Insurance and Finance, the Economy Ministry reported.

Borissov further said that, according to Eurostat, Bulgarian exports to other EU countries between January and September 2017 rose by 11 per cent, year on year, and to non-EU countries by 22 per cent. "The Economy Ministry will continue to support exports because they are one of the main growth drivers for the Bulgarian economy," he said.

The Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2018 will push ahead with the current bilateral trade negotiations between the EU and other parts of the world by building on the accomplishments of the Estonian EU Presidency (July-December 2017), particularly the talks with Japan, and also those with the Mercosur bloc and Mexico, where efforts will be made for fruitful discussions in the EU Council in order to complete the negotiations, Borissov said. The Bulgarian EU Presidency will also work for the adoption of guidelines and the completion of the EU trade talks with Australia, New Zealand and Chile.