site.btaFarmers to Receive BGN 125 Million Due in State Aid by Late November, Drop Protest Plans

Farmers will receive by the end of November the remaining BGN 125 million from the state aid schemes to support the liquidity of farmers, producers of cereals and oilseeds to overcome the negative economic impact of Russian aggression against Ukraine, caretaker Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova told journalists on Thursday. She was speaking after a meeting with representatives of the agricultural sector affected by the import of agricultural produce from Ukraine.

Petkova said that because the funds were not part of the 2024 budget, a restructuring was needed to allocate the aid.

After the government allocated an extra BGN 200 million to the 2024 budget of the State Fund Agriculture (SFA), these funds have now been transferred to the accounts of the agricultural producers, caretaker Minister of Agriculture and Food Georgi Tahov said.

This was confirmed by National Grain Producer Association (NGPA) Chair Ilia Prodanov. He added that the outcome of the meeting satisfied them, and the protest readiness that was announced is no longer on the agenda.

On October 2, after an emergency Management Board meeting, NGPA released a statement expressing their dissatisfaction with the missed deadlines for the payment of the state aid.

On October 4, the Fruit and Vegetable Branch Chamber said the organization is ready to initiate protests, if disbursement of the state aid gets delayed for the fourth time.

On October 7, the government said it approved an additional BGN 200 million for the budget of the State Fund Agriculture for 2024, intended to cover part of the second tranche of a total of BGN 325 million for the state aid.