New Food market report from Business Monitor International: "Bulgaria Food & Drink Report Q1 2013"

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 03/04/2013 --Our outlook for the Bulgarian consumer sector remains gloomy, due to a number of lingering challenges over the medium and long term. Economic growth has flatlined due to weakening demand from the eurozone (approximately 60% of total Bulgarian exports are destined for Europe) and a larger concomitant slowdown in domestic demand as export intensive industrial activity slows. Further dragging on growth is fiscal austerity and the domestic banking sector's exposure to peripheral eurozone banks, which will restrict credit growth while also continuing to pose major downside risks to the country's economic growth. Over the longer term, issues such as economic difficulties and the emigration of younger and better-qualified workers will compound this situation, limiting the opportunities for premiumisation. We forecast private consumption growth of 0.7% and 1.0% in 2012 and 2013 respectively, and expect a slight rebound in real GDP growth in 2013, to 1.4%, from 0.1% in 2012.

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Headline Industry Data (local currency)

? 2013 per capita food consumption growth: +1.84%; forecast compound annual growth rate to 2017: +2.53%. ? 2013 alcoholic drinks value sales growth: +3.41%; forecast compound annual growth rate to 2017: +5.06%. ? 2013 soft drinks value sales growth: +5.56%; forecast compound annual growth rate to 2017: +4.06%. ? 2013 mass grocery retail sales growth: +3.55%; forecast compound annual growth rate to 2017: +5.43%.

Key Industry Trends

Wine Exports Continue to Grow: In November, Bulgaria's Executive Agency on Vine and Wine reported that wine exports grew by 7.4% in the first nine months of 2012, with 36mn litres of wine exported, up from 2.5mn during the same period in 2011. On the back of this success, the agency announced that Bulgaria is planning to launch a campaign to promote its wines in non-EU countries. The campaign will start in January 2013, lasting three years, with a cost of EUR2.7mn.

Authorities Bust Bad Meat: In October 2012, a meat processing plant located in Silistra in the north of the country was closed down after Bulgaria's Food Safety Agency found 4,200kg of frozen meat with expiration dates from 2009 and no documentation. This is one of the biggest meat processing plants in the country, with the meat destined for export to Russia. The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency was launched in early 2011 due to rising concerns about food safety in the country.

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