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EBRD lends to develop Bulgarian wholesale market network
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to lend US$ 35 million (ECU 27.2 million) to help develop new, and rehabilitate existing, fruit and vegetable wholesale and assembly markets in strategic parts of Bulgaria. The project will replace and modernise the old horticultural marketing and distribution system.
At the signing ceremony, attended by Dimiter Kostov, Bulgaria’s Minister of Finance, Juan Miranda, EBRD’s Agribusiness Team Director, said: “This project should make a real difference to people throughout Bulgaria. It will provide an efficient and market-driven outlet for suppliers of fruit and vegetables, encourage private sector participation in the trade, and establish effective and competitive linkages between buyers and suppliers. It will help revive the all-important horticultural industry, a major part of the Bulgarian economy, and stimulate exports. Infrastructure and services will be developed to allow improvements in all these areas.”
Dimiter Kostov said: “Horticulture is unquestionably an area in which Bulgaria can compete with any country in the world. Our domestic market is also a priority for us. We need to help farmers deliver produce efficiently to both the processing industry and the wholesale and retail trade. Our private sector wholesalers and retailers are crucial in this work, and they are already making a strong impact in the industry. We need to encourage them further with projects of this nature to ensure regular supplies at competitive prices to consumers.”
Three wholesale markets and seven assembly markets are to be developed, structured around independent companies, each acting as owners and operators of their respective markets. These companies will have a mix of shareholders, including municipalities, farmer groups, individuals and financial institutions. The project will be co-financed with local banks.
The overall coordination of the project’s implementation will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, assisted by a new Project Management Unit funded, on a grant basis, by the German Government through its Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations (BMZ) and its project development agency (GTZ). An advanced project implementation team is already in place.
This loan is part of a wholesale market programme, developed by the EBRD, in a number of its countries of operations. Similar projects have been approved in Armenia, Belarus, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine.
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