A large Plovdiv producer of greenhouse vegetables has relied on natural solar production this year. Yordan Balabanov is one of hundreds affected by high electricity and gas bills, he writes TrafficNews.
His company is one of the largest producers of greenhouse vegetables in Bulgaria. The company’s headquarters are in the town of Parvomay, Plovdiv region, where 240 acres of steel and glass greenhouses are located on 630 decares of its own land – fully gasified, with drip irrigation, hydroponics and computer regulation of the production process using Dutch technology.
The owner quickly makes calculations and realizes that the production costs in the conditions of the record price increase will literally bankrupt the company, as the final product will be so expensive that there will be no market for it.
According to him, the investment in greenhouse production is absolutely unprofitable, as only gas bills have jumped by 300%.
We are not producing anything at the moment, because we believe that it is pointless to produce greenhouse products in these conditions. We are switching to spring-summer production, which does not require much energy. Our main expense is natural gas. The situation there is deadly – 400 leva was last year, now the price is 1300 leva.
The fertilizer of BGN 360 is BGN 1,400 per ton. More than 85% of the cost of cucumbers and tomatoes is energy and heating. This is meaningless and means that cucumbers should be sold at BGN 8 per kilogram – who will buy at such a price given that pork is BGN 4.5 per kg. “Everything has its limits,” said a Greens manager.
Balabanov also commented on competition with imported goods from Greece and Turkey.
“There the bill is very clear and easy. There are heating costs – zero. There are no heating systems. Bulgarian producers can not be competitive. The cost of their production is 80% lower than ours. Their costs for fertilizers are also lower, and they use natural gas. Only in the spring can we talk about competition, “he said.
Seeds have already been planted so that there will be ready-made Bulgarian products by Easter.
According to him, this requires layoffs and the inability to adequately index salaries in the industry against rapid inflation.
“And we want to give more money, but if there is no production and no income, how can this happen? On the other hand, the workers want an increase in wages. We want to give 1,000 euros and wait in line, but alas – we do not have one. opportunity “, added Balabanov.
According to him, the survival of the business can not go through state aid, at least not in the form in which they are launched.
“The state is making fun of us. It’s just written and promised – we will give subsidies. Where are they? What kind of subsidy should we take, given that we stopped production because we will go bankrupt at such gas prices. On the other hand, the company’s costs are going. If there are subsidies, they must be specified in advance so that each producer can calculate whether to sow or not. Because, on the other hand, no one will compensate you for lost profits. ”
According to him, greenhouse production in our country cannot be competitive in the current market conditions.
“Not to say a big word, but in my opinion greenhouse production has no future. The future is to watch spring-summer production, but there we face other interests, another industry. When you are without heating, you are equal to all other industries – these in private yards, small family businesses.
The excavation prices there are low, because a person who looks at products in his yard is looking to sell them immediately at a lower price. They have no workers, they do not pay all taxes, fees and insurances, they do not calculate their work. From there, prices in the entire sector fall, “Balabanov added.
The producer remains optimistic that the market will be regulated and normalized so that Bulgarian producers can develop normally.
–
