Bulgarian Agriculture Minister: Bulgaria imports 90% of all produce

Ninety percent of produce on the Bulgarian market is imported, according to caretaker Agriculture Minister, Ivan Stankov.

Stankov has made the statement during the first sitting of the newly established Scientific Business Council, the Agriculture Ministry announced in a press release Saturday. The Minister has already stressed livestock breeding is ruined, despite the demand abroad for its products, adding only grain growing and production were relatively stable.

Slovenia may repeat the fate of Cyprus

 As informs television channel Bloomberg, Slovenia in the near future may become the fifth country of the euro zone, which would require a stabilization program of the EU and the IMF. According to the channel, the special fears are caused by financial condition of a number of Slovenian banks, which for some time have begun to experience difficulties related to non-return of many loans. Investors' attitude to the problems of this Balkan country illustrates the jumped yield of ten-year promissory notes which by now have reached a very high level for the euro area.

Wizz Air comes to Bosnia and expands in FYR Macedonia

Wizz Air will enter the Bosnian market this summer with flights from Tuzla to Malmo, Sweden launching May 31 in what the low cost airline has described as “a new chapter in the history of Bosnian aviation”. Furthermore, Wizz Air will continue its expansion at its Skopje base with the launch of its third Swedish destination to Gothenburg.

Greek exports to third countries up in 2012

Increased exports to third countries, with raw materials and farm/food products at the helm of export activity, Greek exports registered a new all- time record in 2012, with their value totaling 26.5 billion euros, up 5.9 pct from 2011, the Panhellenic Federation of Exporters announced.

Marinopoulos acquired Albanian supermarket chain

Greece΄s Marinopoulos Group said today in an announcement that it has acquired Albanian super market chain Euromax from local Balfin Group. “The agreement totally upgrades the presence of the Marinopoulos Group SA in Albania and is part of the overall expansion strategy in the Balkan market,” Marinopoulos said. The Euromax chain owns 23 stores, 17 of which operate in the capital Tirana.

International hotel reservations website Booking.com to open Bucharest office

Online accommodation booking website Booking.com will open an office in Bucharest, where it has already rented a 300 sqm office space in Euro Tower office building, according to Romanian daily Ziarul Financiar. The opening is scheduled in about two weeks. “We believe Romania to be an interesting market for Eastern European traveling, and there is potential for hotels and other accommodation units to feature their services on our platform […],” said Anoeska van Leeuwen, corporate communications director with Booking.com, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

Croatian locomotives exported to Morocco

Croatian factory Gredelj has delivered four Locomotives to Morocco state railways.

The diesel locomotives represent the second delivery to the same client - a way of Gredelj getting out of the bankruptcy process.

Gredelj produces locomotives in collaboration with the American company National Railway Equipment.

Source: croatiantimes.com

Bulgaria Named World's 6th Cheapest Holiday Destination

Bulgarian resort costs are the sixth cheapest among the world's most popular tourist destinations, according to the new Post Office Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer. The Balkan country was fourth in the previous edition of the survey. Spain and Sri Lanka now share the top spot for value of 42 destinations surveyed.

Greece could withdraw part of donation from Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB)

The Greek government is considering withdrawing a large part of the donation from Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB) for building a section of Corridor 10 in southern Serbia, head of the company Koridori Srbije Dmitar Djurovic said on Friday, adding he, however, did not expect it to happen.

Djurovic noted that EUR 88.7 million from HiPERB were meant for building the south section of Corridor 10 from Donji Neradovac to Levosoj.

Romania’s Constanta harbor becomes embarking point for MSC Cruises

European company MSC Cruises chose Romania’s Constanta harbor to be the new embarking point for its MSC Musica ship, starting September 2013.

The first passengers will embark on MSC Musica in Romania and will start an 11-night cruise: Constanta-Gythion- Venice-Katakolon-Istanbul- Yalta-Odessa-Constanta, starting September 27 this year. Also, another three MSC Musica cruise ships will have Constanta harbor as a starting point this autumn. The cost of a cruise will start from EUR 749 per person.

Serbian Government to take over debt of Jat Airways

The government will take over the entire debt of the Serbian air carrier Jat Airways, which stood around EUR 170 million in February, Serbian Minister of Transport Milutin Mrkonjic stated on Friday, adding that the airline will get a new management.
He underlined that the debt has to be taken over in order to solve the Jat Airways issue, adding that it appears that the government is on the right way to realize successfully everything that has been planned. Mrkonjic noted that Jat will lease six planes, which will amount to one million and a half on average.Mrkonjic said that the task of the new Jat management will be to break even by the end of the year, adding that the government is ready to start the talks with potential strategic partners of the Serbian air carrier.

Bulgaria Has EUR 100 M in Cypriot Banks

Bulgarian individuals and companies, which are not banks, have a total of EUR 100 M in deposits in Cypriot banks, according to data of the Central EuropeanBank. The total amount of deposits is EUR 107.8 B, of them EUR 38.2 B belong to otherbanks, while the rest are owned by private companies and individuals. Of the latter, Cyprus citizens have deposits in the amount of EUR 56.6 B.

Montenegro's Government and Microsoft set to continue cooperation

Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Information Society and Telecommunications Vujica Lazović met Tuesday with the Microsoft’s delegation, headed by Takuya Hirano, Microsoft's General Manager for Central and Eastern Europe.

FYR Macedonia, Albania, Serbia most affected by Greek crisis

Only in 2010 Greek companies have withdrawn some EUR 1.3 billion from countries in the West Balkans, while since 2009 until the end of 2011 some 2,000 Greek companies moved their offices from the region. This data was presented at an international conference themed Leaving Europe's Waiting Room - Overcoming the Crisis of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans, held in Austria, Macedonian Utrinski Vesnik daily writes. 

OTE Extends by 1 Month Bid for Bulgaria's Globul Sale

OTE, Greece's biggest telecoms operator has extended by a month the deadline for bidders in the sale of its Bulgarian unit, Globul. OTE expects to receive about EUR 700 M from the deal, the site econ.bg informs, citing Reuters' sources. Interested buyers include the Turkish Turk Telekom and Turkcell, the NorwegianTelenor, and Deutsche Telekom, which has 40% stake in OTE.

Another dairy scare: Danone withdraws products from Romanian market after aflatoxins found in supplier’s milk

Dairy producer Danone recently announced it would withdraw several products from the Romanian market as a precautionary measure after it emerged that they could be contaminated with aflatoxins toxic carcinogenic substances. The dairy maker also blocked 75 tonnes of products in its warehouses after discovering aflatoxin in the milk delivered by one of its suppliers. The news follows the withdrawal of milk from shops after alflatoxins were found in two batches of milk.

Zagreb International Airport Makeover Due To Start In September

The 230 million euro plus modernisation of Zagreb International Airport is set to begin in September this year, after the European Investment Bank (EIB) approved a 120 million euro loan for the French Zagreb Airport International Company (ZAIC), who last year signed a concession to build a new passenger terminal at Zagreb Airport and manage the existing and the new terminal and their infrastructure.

"Sutas" dairy production in FYROM would be launched  in May.

Turkish company "Sutas" has said dairy production in FYROM would be launched this May. The company has thus far invested EUR 10 million in the former "Swedmilk" dairy, employing 50 people.

Serbia's trade deficit down by 12.8 percent

Serbia's trade deficit was USD 524,5 million in January this year, dropping by 12.8 percent compared to January 2012, the national office of statistics released on Wednesday. The total trade was USD 2.29 billion, which is an increase of 12.6 percent, with export at USD 882.1 million, or 23.2 percent higher, and import at USD 1.41 billion, or 6.8 percent higher. The export-import coverage was 62.7 percent, higher than in January 2012 by 54.3 percent.

Bulgaria Sees EU's Largest Annual Industrial Production Increase in January 2013

Bulgaria's industrial production increased by 8.0% in January 2013 compared with January 2012, according to Eurostat. Bulgaria and Lithuania registered the highest growth among all EU member states for which data are available (+8.0%), followed by Estonia (+5.5%).

EIB Approves Loan for Slovenian TEŠ Power Plant

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Friday that they had "moved ahead with their financial support" for the construction of a EUR 1.3b new generator at the Šoštanj coal-fired TEŠ power plant.

Skopje Airport, Best Small Airport in Europe for 2012

In the category of up to 2 million passengers per annum, Skopje Alexander the Great Airport was awarded Best Airport in Europe by Airport Council International (ACI) based on the passenger answers to the airport service quality survey forms collected in 2012.

Bosnia and Herzegovina could lose 7.5 million euros of EU assistance for cencus

If BiH does not fulfill the necessary pre-conditions, it might lose the 7.5 million euros that EU planned to provide to support the census in our country. 

L’Oreal adds direct sale of luxury range in Romania, sees growth potential for expensive cosmetics

Cosmetics importer L’Oréal Romania has integrated its L’Oréal Luxe division into its Romanian business, making it the fourth division of the company. The company will start selling products directly from the L’Oreal Luxe brands, after sales were previously done via zonal agents and reporting was made directly to Zagreb, Croatia. The Romanian subsidiary will control the sales of luxury products on the Romanian market, with brands such as Lancome, Yves Saint Laurent, Biotherm, Giorgio Armani, Diesel and Cacharel.

Bulgaria's GDP Grows by 0.5% in 2012 Q4 Y/Y

In the fourth quarter of 2012 Bulgaria's GDP at current prices amounts to BGN 21.085 B (EUR 10.78 B) and EUR 1 478 per person, according to Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute.

According to the seasonally adjusted figures, Bulgaria's GDP growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2012 was 0.5 % compared to the same quarter of the previous year and remains at the same level compared to the third quarter of 2012.

Romania becomes major EU bicycle exporter, but Bulgaria could be winning the race

Bicycles may not be the first thing most people associate with Romania, but in recent years local manufacturers have been exporting to the EU in a big way. Neighboring Bulgaria has also seen growing bicycle exports to the rest of Europe, however, while Bulgaria changed up a gear in 2012, Romania sat back and freewheeled in the EU Balkan bicycle export race, according to industry news service, Bike Europe.

Belgrade Airport Europe's 2nd in service quality

Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport is second in Europe and seventh in the world in quality of services, according to a study based on 14 million passenger votes and reviews compiled by international travel agency e-Dreams.

Croatia has privatised its largest shipyard

Croatia's largest shipyard, Brodosplit, was privatised this week.

The government signed the contract with Croatian company DIV which took over the shipyard for only 1 Croatian kuna, but accepted its debts and obligations.

HP inks Piraeus agreement with Cosco

Piraeus has established itself as an international cargo transit hub after the signing of an agreement on Friday between US multinational Hewlett Packard and China’s Cosco, operator of the port’s Pier II, for the American electronics firm to use Piraeus as a base from which to ship its products on to Eastern and Central Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Romanian aluminium maker Alro posts loss after renegotiation of energy contract

Romania’s aluminium producer Alro Slatina, controlled by Russian – owned Vimetco, ended 2012 on a loss, EUR 38.4 million, after an EUR 49 million profit in 2011. The reported data is preliminary and unaudited.