Balgarianovinite.com Dairy imports have surged nearly 45% over the past five years, while raw cow’s milk production has dropped 25%, Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) Deputy Chair Zhelyo Boychev said on Tuesday, citing preliminary data from an interim analysis of the fast-moving consumer goods and agricultural products sector.
“The sector cannot meet Bulgarian consumers’ demand for dairy products, and the situation is dramatic,” Boychev said.
The data also shows steep declines across the sector over the past five years: dairy cow numbers fell 26%, sheep 46% and goats 42%. The number of livestock farms also shrank sharply, with cow and sheep holdings each down 66% and goat holdings down 70%. At the same time, milk production costs rose 27%.
“We owe Bulgarian society an answer as to why consumers in Bulgaria are paying some of the highest dairy prices even as local producers and processors struggle,” Boychev said.
According to CPC, State support could help improve the sector’s competitiveness.
“When we began analyzing the food sector, we did not expect such stark findings. The interim report points to the most severe distortions in milk production and dairy processing. Bulgaria, once a traditional producer and processor of milk and dairy products, now lags far behind European levels. We will use the full powers of the commission to open specific proceedings wherever we find a distorted competitive environment,” CPC Chair Rosen Karadimov said.
Also attending the press conference were Dimitar Zorov, chair of the Association of Dairy Processors in Bulgaria; CPC Deputy Chair Radomir Cholakov; Vladislav Mihaylov, chair of the National Association of Dairy Processors; Simeon Karakolev, co-chair of the National Sheep and Goat Breeders’ Association; and Boryana Dimitrova, rector of the Agricultural University of Plovdiv.
Later on Tuesday, the CPC leadership will meet milk producers and dairy processors from across the country at the Agricultural University of Plovdiv as part of its in-depth review of the milk and dairy products sector. Competition Watchdog Says Bulgarian Dairy Sector Is Struggling 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-10 15:04:56 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law