This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks
The action you just performed triggered the security solution
There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase
You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked
Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page
Tons of watermelons are left in the field for lack of a market
Cheap Greek produce is permanently replacing domestic production
Costs have jumped by 30-40% at twice the farm gate price
one of the biggest producers in Lyubimets - the most famous watermelon growing region in Bulgaria
sweet melons and watermelons were the trademark of the fertile lands of this southern Bulgarian town and the main livelihood for the locals
Today the situation is radically different
Melons are hardly grown at all and the watermelon business is getting tougher
But the other growers have nowhere to sell and their watermelons are still in the field
Yanev has 110 hectares of land planted with the Sorrento and Romanza varieties
in 2021 the farm-gate price for watermelons was 15 euro cents per kilo
"This year's harvest was weaker - the weather was not right," he said
calculating that the average cost per acre is 500 euro
which means that the purchase price per kilo should be at least 13 euro cents
and now the production is being sold at a loss
Despite the difficult situation in the industry
Yanev manages to sell about 500 - 600 tons of his production on the domestic market
mainly on the stock exchanges in Plovdiv and Pazardzhik
Harvesting this fruit is extremely labour intensive
"It is very difficult to find watermelon pickers to work under the scorching sun but I manage for a wage of 50 leva daily (25 euro)
says the farmer and highlights another serious failure of the state
He is one of the few registered farmers in Lyubimets
But there are many farmers who are in the grey economy and "do not pay taxes or social security"
EU subsidies for fruit and vegetable production in the country are extremely low
Neighbouring Greece receives much more EU funds for the development of the sector
"On the market in Sofia there are no watermelons from Lyubimets
It takes hard work to make a living with watermelons," says Yanko Yanev and shares concerns that watermelon production in the fertile region of Lyubimets will soon follow the fate of tomato growing:
"Soon there will be no watermelons in Lyubimets municipality
Once every household had three greenhouses
the same will happen with watermelons - there will simply be no watermelons," says Yanev
He is considering halving the area of crops next year
The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has again reduced the key interest rate in the country
This is the eighth consecutive month of a decrease in.
An analysis by the Ministry of Economy and Industry shows that in 2024
Bulgaria's trade with the United States accounted for 1.7% of the country’s total trade volume
making up 2.6% of total exports and imports from the U.S..
Around 4 billion euros in debt have been raised from international markets through two bond issues
The amount was raised through issues of 9-year and 13-year bonds – marking the country’s first entry into the.
english@bnr.bg
HOT: » What kind of news would you like to see more of?
accommodated at the notorious Busmantsi detention facility near Sofia
have declared a hunger strike in protest against the ban to leave its premises
The protesters also complain of slow processing of asylum applications
strained relations with the security guards and dilapidated equipment
They have threatened to take their protest a step further and turn the hunger strike into mutiny if their demands are not met
Persons accommodated at Registration-and-Reception Centres of the State Agency for Refugees are free to come and go
which is not the case at the Lyubimets and Busmantsi detention centers
where persons pending deportation are also held.Being a member of the EU but not of the Schengen area
Bulgaria is just a transit county for illegal immigrant.All asylum applicants in Bulgaria are poor and somewhat confused and the country is rarely their end goal
Some 1000 persons apply for asylum each year
on average no more than 10% get political asylum
while the remaining ones may spend years roaming through the local red-tape labyrinths before they decide to head off to Western Europe
The imperfections of the legal system (one asylum-seeker can file an indefinite number of applications)
combined with the insufficient administrative capacity
enable the formation of a community of people without documents whose stay in the country has expired
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria
The European Commission has highlighted the significant economic benefits of Bulgaria and Romania’s full integration into the Schengen Area
The full integration of Bulgaria into the Schengen area has further complicated the already existing challenges in hiring foreign workers
the words and expressions that defined 2024
as determined by public vote and media analysis in the initiative
The Caretaker Cabinet of Bulgaria has approved amendments to the Law on Foreigners to align the country's regulations with the Schengen Borders Code and European Union directives
With Bulgaria's full integration into the Schengen Area
citizens now have the ability to travel freely to neighboring Greece and Romania
Following Bulgaria's entry into the Schengen area
the Union of International Transport Operators anticipates a reduction in transport service prices and imported goods
"Everyone wants positions – in regulatory bodies and ministries," he emphasized
Bulgaria’s toll system now has the technical capability to track average vehicle speeds
as announced by the National Toll Management following a meeting with Regional Development Minister Violeta Koritarova
The income required to cover living expenses for a working individual and a three-member family with a child under 14 has remained almost unchanged compared to June
according to an analysis by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CI
The Council of Ministers has adopted a resolution to set the minimum wage at 1,077 leva
fire alerts are received from across Bulgaria
answering a question whether he would apologize to the Bulgarian people for violating the Constitution
Google Street View Cars Return to Bulgaria for Major Mapping Update
Housing Prices Soar in Bulgaria’s Major Cities as Demand and Supply Strain Increase
The impressive ancient complex of Gluhite Kamani /Deaf Stones/ next to the Malko Gradishte village
Lyubimets Municipality in the Northeast Rhodope Mountain was first discovered by Czech brothers Hermann and Karel Škorpil in the early 20th century
The brothers were the founders of scientific archaeology in Bulgaria
the revealing of the sites’ secrets began no earlier than 2008
spreading over 1 km2 and including the Sveta Marina Peak where the medieval Efrem fortress was supposedly situated
There is a bunch of rocks on the eastern slope of the peak
known by the name Deaf Stones,” Associate Prof
“We have always been impressed by the lack of audibility there – the rocks simply absorb the noise
We have had several experiments this year together with experts from the Institute of Mechanics of Acoustics and they confirmed our observations
The complex is astonishing with its numerous rock niches:
spread mainly across the East Rhodope along the Arda riverbank and related to the culture of Thracian people
That was confirmed by archaeological excavations
we reached a layer from the end of the 5th and the beginning of the 4th millennium BC
These are the earliest traces of human presence there
We are not sure what the place was functioning like back then
mainly ceramics and primitive stone tools
but the site’s intense exploitation started as of the Early Iron Age
thick over 2.5 m provide really detailed information
The Deaf Stones once again show how ancient Thracians tries always to select high spots for their rituals:
“There are over 500 niches carved into the rocks – this is the biggest group of rock niches in the Rhodope
The fireplaces left also testify on rites and mysteries
The rock entrances lead towards small chambers with rounded floors
That makes scientists think that those were burial facilities
One of the first discoveries of Associate Prof
Nehrizov was a hard-to-be-dated petroglyph
We believe it is a solar sign – the sun boat which traces its route across the skies…”
2016 was particularly successful for the Deaf Stones’ researchers:
“The large group of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic ceramic figures
discovered around a fireplace has been the most interesting thing so far
but really expressive: male and female figures with distinguishing gender marks and also animals which are hardly recognizable
Similar findings are typical for Thracian sites
Archaeologists say the figures were gifts for fire rituals and perhaps those were even produced on the spot
The research shows that the complex functioned till the end of the 12th c
“The coins and ceramics found suddenly end up by the end of the 12th c
We relate this to a writing of a chronicler of the Fourth Crusade Geoffrey of Villehardouin who mentioned that the Efrem fortress was conquered by the crusaders
Perhaps that was the moment when the Deaf Stones complex was destroyed,” Associate Prof
"You must have strong faith and pray - then the saint will help you and carry your prayer to God," says Father Georgi Markov of the Church of St
Athanasius the Great in Gorni Lozen near Sofia
He adds that he has often witnessed the miracles of St.
marks 1160 years since the baptism of our Bulgarian people into the Orthodox faith and 1170 years since the creation of the Bulgarian alphabet and Slavic literature
the Varna and Veliki Preslav Bishopric Metropolis.
Bulgaria celebrates 149 years since the April Uprising – an event that led to the liberation of Bulgaria after almost five centuries of Ottoman rule
we must not forget that every participant in the April.