Bulgaria expects to harvest 5mn tonnes of wheat in 2020

• Bulgaria would easily be able to meet domestic demand for wheat, which is about 1.8 million tonnes, and keep exports strong.
• Farmers, however, are less optimistic, estimating this year's wheat crop at about 4.5 million tonnes.

SOFIA: Bulgaria expects to harvest about 5 million tonnes of wheat this year, Agriculture Minister Desislava Taneva said on Friday, adding that the Black Sea state would still be a net grain exporter.

"The wheat crop this year will be good, given the weather conditions," Taneva told a news conference.

Bulgaria would easily be able to meet domestic demand for wheat, which is about 1.8 million tonnes, and keep exports strong.

"The country would still be a net exporter of wheat," Taneva said.

The Balkan country harvested 6.1 million tonnes of wheat the previous year, operational data from the agriculture ministry showed.

Taneva said that the 2020 harvest would be smaller than the previous year's crop after sowings were damaged by drought in some parts of the country, mainly in the northeast.

Farmers, however, are less optimistic, estimating this year's wheat crop at about 4.5 million tonnes.

Bulgaria has already shipped nearly 4.3 million tonnes of the 2019 wheat crop overseas, the agriculture ministry data showed.