Bulgaria sees 2017 wheat crop down to 5.2mn T

SOFIA: Bulgaria sees 2017 wheat crop down to 5.2 million tonnes, compared with a bumper crop of 5.66 million tonnes last year when the Black Sea country achieved its biggest wheat crop since 1980, agriculture minister Rumen Porozhanov said on Thursday.

Porozhanov said the estimate did not take into account hail that affected sowing this week.

"This year's wheat crop is distinguished by the best quality in decades," said Porozhanov, who estimated the barley crop at about 600,000 tonnes.

Bulgaria is a net grain exporter and has shipped more than 4 million tonnes of wheat abroad in the past year, agriculture ministry data showed.