site.btaHerb Growing Offers Bulgarian Rural Communities an Opportunity for Sustainable Business and Development

Herb Growing Offers Bulgarian Rural Communities an Opportunity for Sustainable Business and Development

Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria, July 27 (BTA) - Bulgaria loses profit by doing little other than drying of the herbs it grows, harvests and exports, the Information and Environmental Protection (IEP) organization tod BTA. Over 85 per cent of the medicinal plants are not put to any processing other than drying before they are exported - and they come back to the Bulgarian market in the form of foods, cosmetic and medicinal products at much higher prices, IEP said.

To change this, IEP is working in rural communities to raise their awareness of the potential of herb growing as an alternative business in high-land villages and a key to the development of sustanable business initiatives. Its project is using funding from a Bulgarian-Swiss cooperation programme.

Bulgaria exports herbs from 140 plants. The top markets are Germany (65 per cent), Spain (10 per cent) and Italy (5 per cent).

Only about a third of the herbs that are produced in Bulgaria go for local consumption and the rest is exported, making Bulgaria the world's third biggest exporter and Europe's top exporter of herbs. The annual herb production stands at some 15,000-17,000 t. MORE