site.btaInvestment Interest in Meat Cattle Rearing Is Growing in Bulgaria - Expert

Investment Interest in Meat Cattle Rearing Is Growing in Bulgaria - Expert

Varna, February 28 (BTA) - The market of cattle meat in Bulgaria is not well structured yet and there are no solid tendencies in cattle rearing. However, the picture is gradually changing and an increasingly higher number of investors see the possibilities of a market that is about to develop, Andrei Chalukov, Executive Director of the Association for Growing of Meat Cattle Breeds, said in an interview for BTA.

An increasingly higher number of framers are aware that it is not one and the same just to export grain and process it and export produce with added value, said Chalukov. The benefit will be greater, where the grain is transformed into meat or meat preparations along the chain.

He notes, however, that the sale of produce is still a problem. Export transactions are being concluded but everyone is himself seeking customers.

"As a whole, the market is not well structured and the Bulgarian-produced raw materials are not attractive enough for our meat processors," Chalukov warns. The enterprises have made a serous technological leap and operate with standardized produce, while the locally produced meat is not calibrated and assessed in terms of quality. This is the reason why 70 per cent of the beef meat in Bulgaria is imported, the expert said.

Chalukov noted that veal is not very popular in Bulgaria, which may be attributed to the fact that a high-quality veal meat has not been offered on the market so far. People are used to believe that veal is dry, should be cooked for a long time, etc.

He is confident that the entry of new technologies with clearly outlined cycles of growing will contribute to the formation of a new taste among customers. "In fact, this process has already begun: there are already specialized steak restaurants in the country, which means that there is a demand for such meat, which makes restaurant keepers offer it.

The demand for beef has increased worldwide and the tendency will be preserved in the following years, said Chalukov. This is a big chance for the Bulgarian producers, who, unlike the colleagues from the other EU countries, can offer this commodity at comparable quality but a lower price.

Besides, the country is close to exotic markets - the Middle East, Turkey, Greece -
but it is yet unprepared to guarantee regularity of supplies, the interviewee also said.

The selection is a must, Chalukov said adding that the effect from animal selection actually becomes visible within 18 months. His impressions are that this type of long-term thinking is not yet popular in Bulgaria: to take decisions, the results of which will be seen after a year and a half at the earliest. Yet, regardless of the slow return of this type of investment, an increasingly higher number of producers are making efforts to raise high-quality animals.