Bulgarian winegrowers on strike readiness as dozens of decares stay unpicked
Atanas Vassilev (National Association of Bulgarian Winegrowers / Vinprom Svishtov) cites weak demand and heavy Italian, French and Spanish imports — including draft wine — as purchase prices fail to cover costs. Growers flag ~€14/daa support versus costs near €600/daa, propose restaurant VAT relief for Bulgarian wine, and say strike readiness follows the campaign.
The grapes are there. In places, the buyers are not.
Fakti.bg, citing bTV, reports a good Bulgarian harvest in swing — yet some arrays stay on the vine because cellars are full and demand for Bulgarian wine is soft. Atanas Vassilev, executive director of Vinprom Svishtov and chair of the National Association of Bulgarian Winegrowers, points to two or three years of weak pull and heavy imports from Italy, France and Spain, including draft wine sold at prices local producers struggle to match.
Where purchase prices do not cover costs, he says, growers are not even entering the rows; in some spots dozens of decares remain unharvested. Labour and missing seasonal hands add pressure. Industry voices put annual support near €14 per decare against claimed costs around €600/daa, with a promised “Ukrainian aid” band near €21/daa still far below the spreadsheet.
Proposals include partial VAT relief for Bulgarian wine in restaurants plus wider backing for domestic production and wine tourism. Vassilev says that after the campaign ends, winegrowers have declared strike readiness to force attention onto the gap between imported bulk and unpaid local fruit.
Mini-concept: an unharvested decare is a market signal written in the vineyard — when imports and full tanks set the cheque, the cheapest “crush” is to leave the fruit hanging.
Keep: next time a cheap draft pour undercuts a Bulgarian bottle, ask whether someone’s decares stayed green while the tanker came from elsewhere.
Remember: Vassilev — weak demand + IT/FR/ES imports incl. draft; dozens of daa unpicked; ~€14 vs ~€600/daa; VAT-in-restaurants ask; strike after campaign.
Source: Fakti.bg / bTV