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Bulgarian agricultural regulation and dairy standards

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2026-09-23 23:32 UTC → 2026-09-28 06:51 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Bulgarian agricultural ~~and food sector~~ regulation and dairy standards

Bulgaria is ~~implementing new~~ advancing regulatory ~~measures within~~ reforms in its agricultural and food sectors to ~~improve oversight~~ enhance product authenticity and ~~transparency. In late August,~~ oversight. Building on previous efforts to combat imitation products, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the National Revenue Agency (NAP) announced stricter controls on agricultural imports to prevent tax evasion and market manipulation. This included intensified inspections of cargo vehicles and coordination with EU tax administrations to verify documentation regarding purchase prices and declared values. By early September, focus expanded to domestic food safety and labeling. Following inspections in Varna that resulted in the disposal of significant quantities is finalizing a revision of ~~dairy products, Agriculture Minister Plamen Abrovski announced plans to amend~~ the Ordinance on Dairy ~~Products to combat imitation products. In mid-September,~~ Products. New proposed ~~technical~~ standards for ~~cheese~~ white brined and yellow cheese ~~(kashkaval) were introduced, including~~ aim to reduce the maximum water content from 60 percent to 58 percent and mandate a minimum dry matter content of 42 ~~percent for products labeled as ‘cheese’.~~ percent. Deputy Minister ~~Abrovski stated~~ Krum Nedelkov noted that ~~after November 1, products may only be called ‘cheese’ if they are prepared from milk. In late September, enforcement actions expanded to include~~ the ~~seizure~~ category of ~~unlabeled goods and cross-border discrepancies. In Kyustendil, joint inspections by the NAP and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) at a warehouse uncovered 51,000~~ ‘cheese with high water content’ will be abolished, as products ~~lacking Bulgarian labels, including soft drinks, energy drinks, and beer. At the Gyueshevo border crossing, the BFSA detained over two tons of yogurt from North Macedonia due~~ with 63–65 percent water content do not align with traditional characteristics. Additionally, new standards for yellow cheese may require production to ~~certification discrepancies. The BFSA significantly ramped up activity, conducting over 2,200 inspections in~~ be a ~~single week, leading~~ continuous process, with interruptions not exceeding 24 hours, to ~~the suspension of three facilities and~~ encourage the ~~destruction of approximately 790 kg of products. As~~ use of domestic milk. These requirements are expected to take effect by late ~~September,~~ November or by the ~~Ministry~~ end of ~~Agriculture is preparing to revise dairy regulations to distinguish authentic products from imitations,~~ 2026, with a ~~proposal to limit water content in cheese to 58~~ projected minimal price increase of 0.2–0.3 percent. Draft changes are expected for public discussion by December 31. Parallel to these regulatory shifts, the government has allocated 170 million euros in the 2026 budget to support agricultural producers. This includes 100 million euros to compensate approximately 14,000 farmers for fuel price differences and 70 million euros for fertilizer costs. To support the broader sector, the Ministry of Agriculture is also collaborating with the Ministry of Transport to modernize railway traffic in Northern Bulgaria to optimize grain export costs.

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