site.btaGrowth in Rose Oil Production Registered in 2024

A Consultative Council on Rose Oil was held on Wednesday in Sofia, attended by industry organizations of producers and processors, representatives of control bodies and the scientific community.

During the council, a growth in rose oil production and rose oil area was reported for 2024. The amount of rose oil produced in 2024 is 10,335 tons, compared to the production of 9,455 tons in 2023. There are 73 rose processors in Bulgaria in 2024, mainly in the cities of Sofia, Stara Zagora and Plovdiv.

The distilleries are 53, with an annual capacity to process more than 15,000 tons of rose oil. Oil-bearing rose in Bulgaria is grown by nearly 3,000 rose growers in 17 administrative regions across the country, with production concentrated mainly in the administrative regions of Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Pazardzhik.

It was also noted that since the beginning of 2024, Bulgaria has exported 936 kg of rose oil to over 30 countries. Exports are mainly to the US, China, Australia, Japan, India and the UK, with export prices ranging from 9,500 dollars to 16,050 dollars per kg.

Caretaker Agriculture Minister Georgi Tahov assured the rose producers and processors of the full assistance of the ministry administration for the problems in the sector. Tahov also committed to assist in moving the legislative amendments to the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

In response to questions from producers about agricultural lands affected by fires and other disasters in the summer, Tahov noted that the applications for support of all producers have been processed. He recalled that the Health Ministry created an organization for the rapid acceptance of applications, which will enable the timely payment of state aid to compensate for damage to agricultural crops.

The total area with completely destroyed crops, which will be taken into account when calculating the compensations, is nearly 6,170 ha.