Vine growers from the Svilengrad area are taking to the streets in protest at the lack of a market for their produce. A large proportion of the grapes remain unharvested in the vineyards, and producers fear they will be unable to cover the costs incurred during the year. According to the growers, this year's harvest is good, but interest from traders and winemakers is extremely low. In a show of protest, some of the winegrowers have set aside grapes which they intend to throw away.
Zhivko Zhelev, organiser of the protest: "I am one of the small-scale producers; I don't have many decares. I switched from growing tobacco to cultivating the vineyards I inherited from my father and grandfather. This year, however, we have been unable to sell our produce. Our appeal to the government is to pay attention to imports from neighbouring countries, because prices there are lower and subsidies are higher."
In his view, the low prices of imported goods are putting local producers in an extremely difficult position.
"This year, nobody has offered us anything. Even if we're talking about around 40 to 50 eurocents, that price is still too high for the trader. A worker costs at least 35 to 36 euros a day. The picking itself costs 13 to 15 eurocents per kilogramme of grapes. When you add in consumables, fuel and diesel – how can I sell it at that price? Last year it was around 1.20–1.50 leva, but this year, even at 40–50 euro cents, almost nobody is buying," said Zhelev.
He attributes the lack of demand to imports of cheaper produce. Winegrowers are calling on the government to intervene and to discuss ways of selling the remaining grapes.
"I've always been in favour of dialogue beforehand – sitting down in working groups, reaching an agreement with the minister, finding a solution, because we don't know what to do with our produce. Tell me, how am I supposed to throw it away? There are young people, there are people who have taken part in projects, they have produce, they have bank loans. At the end of the year, we have to pay for insurance, motorway tolls and fuel. Tell us how we're supposed to manage this. That's why we're turning to the state," added Zhelev.
Another producer from the area said that he cultivates around 100 decares of vineyards, from which he expects a yield of between 100 and 120 tonnes. So far, however, he has managed to sell only a small proportion of it.
"We have various varieties – wine grapes and dessert grapes. We've sold a total of around 10–15 tonnes. Of the dessert grapes – around 10 tonnes. The window of opportunity is closing because they're early varieties. And this year, too, the quality of the grapes is very good, but there's no demand and we're not getting any enquiries," he explained.
According to him, traders with whom producers have worked in previous years now prefer imported grapes.
"The traders we've worked with in previous years say that larger bunches of grapes have been imported from Greece. They took our grapes from here, but then told us they couldn't sell them. We also drove to Burgas, but it didn't work out," said the farmer.
The producer is adamant that his capacity is almost exhausted and that part of the harvest may remain on the vines until the cold weather sets in.
"In 20 days' time, the frost will set in. Once the frost sets in, the leaves will fall off. I'll make a video of the grapes and invite anyone who wants to come. They can stay on the vine until New Year. Anyone who wants to can come and pick them. I've got no other option," he said.
One of the protesters' main demands is that a mechanism be found to buy up the produce or to compensate farmers for their losses.
"Our specific request is for the harvest to be bought up. The state has the means to help in various ways. One way is to compensate us for the fact that the harvest remains unsold," said one of the winegrowers. Krasimir Koev, adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Food: "Once the grape harvest is over, an inventory will be carried out across all vineyards to determine what produce remains. All of this will be documented through invoices or inspections by committees, and once it is established that the grapes have not been harvested – which will be evident – compensation will be provided by the state under the crisis measure."
According to him, there were also problems with sales last year, but at that time the farmers managed to sell almost all of their produce.
"Last year there were a few minor setbacks again, but we sold almost 90–95 per cent of our crop. This year, however, has been different. It's already October, and the grapes are still on the vines. The latest varieties are usually ready by 15 October. We're in a warm region and our grapes, after those from Petrich, are the earliest to ripen. But time is running out. Like any agricultural crop, after a certain period there's nothing more you can do with it. It's not a machine that you can switch off and wait until next year to sell it," said the producer.
According to the protesters, around 80 per cent of their crop is still in the vineyards. Some of the growers are not harvesting it, as the cost of picking would increase their losses even further. The protest by winegrowers in the Svilengrad area is aimed at drawing the attention of the authorities to the lack of a market for grapes and the financial difficulties faced by local producers.
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An article written by БНТ (BNT), initially published on 30 September 2026, 09:02 (CEST)
