ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the progress made to date on alignment and competitiveness of the Bulgarian agro-food sector vis-a-vis the European Union (EU). It presents an overview of policy and institutional developments in Bulgaria and covers trade integration and discusses price alignment at the farm level. The chapter evaluates the price and quality competitiveness of the downstream Bulgarian agro-food sector and argues that little progress has been made to date with regard to integration with the UN. It shows that overall importance of the EU in the Bulgarian agro-food trade. Agricultural policy in Bulgaria until 1998 has been burdened with substantial social functions, namely providing food to the population at lower-than-market prices. In general the combination of policy instruments implemented in Bulgaria have been inconsistent with the instruments used by the EU. The negative producer subsidy equivalents for Bulgaria indicate that farmers, with the exception of milk producers, have been consistently taxed throughout the era of transition.
