The National Statistical Institute reports a catastrophic decline in the production of clothing, footwear and leather goods. In March, the index of industrial production of clothing decreased by 8.3%, and that in the sector "Processing of leather; manufacture of footwear and other articles of treated leather without hair" - by 2.6%. On an annual basis, the collapse in the garment industry is 11.4 percent, and in the footwear and leather industry - as much as 24.1 percent. If 2021 is taken as the base year for the index, then in February 2016, clothing production had 143.6 points compared to 72.3 points in the same month of this year. In leather goods and footwear, the collapse is even greater - from 134.3 points to 47.1 points 10 years later. In both sectors, the trend in recent years has been negative, and the reasons can be sought in several places. First of all, Bulgarian manufacturers are losing foreign markets - the economic problems in EU countries, where a significant part of production was previously exported, are leading to reduced demand. In the mass segment, finding customers is proving to be a problem even in our country - cheap Chinese clothes are being bought en masse from shopping platforms such as Temu and Shein. Turkish clothes and shoes have also been present for years. According to the Bulgarian Association "Circular Textile" (BAKT), in 2023 alone, 20 million shipments from China entered our country with an average product price of about $ 7. At that time, the organization's estimates were that Made in China platforms controlled 20 percent of the "fast fashion" market. Back then, clothing production in our country was one third larger than it is today, if we look at national statistics. From July 1, 2026, the EU is introducing a fixed customs duty of 3 euros per item in shipments up to 150 euros - with all the conditions and possible loopholes in the rule, but the damage is already there. Businesses that provided food for tens of thousands of people in our country and had an economic contribution of billions of euros, today either no longer exist or operate with greatly reduced capacity.

Shell has been ranked first in the tender of Bulgargaz EAD for the supply of one cargo of liquefied natural gas to Turkey for the company's needs. A total of five companies have submitted bids in the tender procedure for the supply of one cargo of liquefied natural gas with a volume of 1,000,000 megawatt hours (about 95 million cubic meters of natural gas in standard conditions - ed. note). The announcement of the procedure was announced on April 29, when Bulgargaz announced that 37 companies had been invited. Shell, which offered the most competitive conditions in accordance with the set criteria and requirements, was ranked first. The specialized vessel will be loaded in the USA and is expected to arrive at the end of May. The terminal near the town of Alexandroupolis, Greece is under planned renovation, effective from 01.04.2026, and after its completion, Bulgargaz has a planned delivery of another cargo of liquefied natural gas, which will be injected into the Chiren UGS, in order to ensure part of the consumption during the winter period 2026-2027.

The Sofia Municipality has selected a contractor for the waste collection, waste transportation and cleaning activities in Zone 3, covering the Izgrev, Slatina and Poduyane districts. The association "CHISTA SOFIA" DZZD was ranked first, which is determined as the contractor of the public procurement. "EKO RESOURS-R" OOD and "EURO IMPEX" EOOD also participated in the procedure, ranked second and third respectively. The selection criterion is the most economically advantageous offer, determined on the basis of the lowest proposed price while maintaining high requirements for the quality of the service, introduced in the initial procedure. The value of the contract will be announced after the expiration of the statutory 10-day appeal period and its official signing. Currently, the Sofia Municipality has signed long-term contracts for Zone 2 (the districts of "Pancharevo", "Kremikovtsi" and "Iskar"), Zone 5 (the districts of "Bankya", "Novi Iskar" and "Vrabnitsa"), and a new contractor has been selected for Zone 4 (the districts of "Nadezhda", "Serdika" and "Ilinden"), where the procedure was returned for the implementation of the court instructions. In Zone 6 (the districts of "Lyulin", "Krasno Selo" and "Krasna Polyana") the service is performed with municipal capacity through the long-term contract concluded with the company "Sofekostroy".

Radoslav Ksenzhopolski is entered in the Commercial Register as a member of the Management Board, Executive Director and Representative of CB "TBI Bank". The other members of the Management Board are Pavels Gilodo, Valentin Angelov Galabov, Alexander Chavdarov Dimitrov, Lukas Tursa, Kostin-Christian Minkovic and Peter Baron. The members of the Management Board are elected for a term of five years. The expiration date of Pavels Gilodo's mandate is February 12, 2031. On March 13, a change in the sole owner of the capital of "TBI Bank" was entered in the Commercial Register, after "Bago (Luxembourg) S.à.r.l." acquired 100% of the bank's share capital. On February 13 of this year, the European Central Bank issued approval for the acquisition by the private equity fund Advent International (through its subsidiary Bago (Luxembourg) S.A.R.L.) of a majority stake in TBI Bank EAD from 4finance Holding S.A. The deal was finalized on March 2, 2026.

The leader of the Tax and Legal practice in EY Bulgaria and EY Euro Central South Business Unit, Hayden Kostadinov, joins the firm after a 25-year professional career. Kostadinov has been involved in the development of the international consulting giant's tax and legal practice in Bulgaria, as well as in Greece, Romania, Cyprus, Malta, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and Moldova. He has been part of strategic deals and projects in various markets. From July 1 this year, he will hand over the baton to Viktor Mitev, a partner at EY Bulgaria with 15 years of experience in it and expertise in tax consulting and international transactions.

"Pirinstroyengineering" EAD of Kostadin Kostov and Mihail Kambitov, has been selected as the contractor for a public procurement contract related to the repair of the street and municipal road network in small settlements on the territory of the Blagoevgrad municipality. The Blagoevgrad company was ranked first, receiving the maximum score for one of the separate positions and high results for the other. The contract is worth about 1.95 million euros and includes a wide range of construction and repair activities - renovation of asphalt pavements, replacement of curbs, repair of alleys and retaining walls, as well as other public spaces. The dismantling of old curbs, removal of earth masses, delivery and laying of crushed stone and ballast, as well as construction of ditches are also planned.

The net profit of Chaikapharma High-Quality Medicines AD for 2025 is 3,075,294.29 euros. The general meeting of shareholders, scheduled for June 24, will decide on its distribution. The managers propose that 10% of the positive financial result be allocated to a mandatory reserve (307,529.43 euros) and 13,764.86 euros for additional reserves. The capital of the pharmaceutical company will increase by the amount of 2,754,000 euros, which includes the remainder of the profit for 2025, in the amount of 2,754,000 euros. Currently, the registered capital of the public company is 95,900,000 euros.

The European Commission has disbursed 66 percent of the funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to the European Union Member States by the end of 2025, Eurostat reports. For the period 2020-2025, EU member states reported the use of funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, equivalent to 63 percent of the total amount of grants allocated, amounting to 228 billion euros. Bulgaria received 53 percent of the funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility by the end of last year. The EC has disbursed a smaller share of the funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to Hungary (2.2 percent), Luxembourg (37.4 percent), Poland (37.7 percent), the Netherlands (46.3 percent), Lithuania (46.3 percent), Romania (47.2 percent) and Sweden (47.8 percent). The largest share of the amount allocated to the respective country was the EU funds received from France (84.8 percent). Bulgaria has used 36 percent of the total amount it is due to receive under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The Recovery and Resilience Facility provides financial support to EU countries in the form of grants and loans for implementing reforms and investments. Gross fixed capital formation accounted for 27 percent of the funds used, while 45 percent was for capital transfers.

The European Union remains a net exporter of agricultural goods, but the balance in agricultural trade is deteriorating due to the faster growth of imports. In 2025, the EU exported agricultural and food products worth €238.2 billion, while imports reached €213.5 billion. This leaves a trade surplus of €24.7 billion, according to new Eurostat data. Compared to 2024, exports increased by 1.6%, while imports grew significantly faster — by 9.3%. In the longer term, between 2015 and 2025, the EU's agricultural trade expanded significantly: exports grew by an average of 4.4% per year, and imports by 5% per year. The main export partners for agricultural goods in 2025 are the United Kingdom with a share of 23.3% (EUR 55.6 billion), followed by the United States (12.0%; EUR 28.5 billion), Switzerland (5.7%; EUR 13.5 billion) and China (4.9%; EUR 11.6 billion). Compared to 2024, the shares of most partners show only minor fluctuations, while the United States recorded a decrease of 0.9% due to the introduction of tariffs on several agricultural products. The majority of EU imports originate from Brazil (8.5%, EUR 18.2 billion), the United Kingdom (8.0%; EUR 17.1 billion), the United States (6.2%; EUR 13.3 billion) and China (5.1%; EUR 10.9 billion). Compared to 2024, the EU's main agricultural partners remained largely stable; However, Ukraine's share in imports has decreased from 6.7% to 5.0% due to the expiry of trade facilitation measures previously granted for agricultural products. Eurostat includes four main groups of agricultural goods: products of animal origin, plant products, animal and vegetable oils and fats, and food, beverages and tobacco. The data show that the EU maintains a strong position as an exporter of agricultural and food products, but the faster growth of imports is reducing the positive balance. This raises again the question of the competitiveness of European agriculture, dependence on external suppliers and the effect of trade regimes with major agricultural partners such as Brazil, Ukraine, the USA and the UK.

The Donald Trump administration will offer US energy companies another 53 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The move is part of efforts to keep prices low after the start of the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In total, 172 million barrels are planned to be used as an anti-crisis measure. These quantities are the US quota in an agreement with more than 30 countries of the International Energy Agency. Together, the countries have expressed their readiness to release about 400 million barrels. The agency's executive director, Fatih Birol, said that the war with Iran has created the largest energy crisis in history, but reassured that if supply disruptions continue, member countries are ready to release additional oil from the reserves. So far, they have released 20% of the stored quantities. Reuters explains that gasoline prices in the US have reached an average of $ 4.52 per gallon, which is the highest level since 2022.

North Korea's total revenue from arms sales to Russia from 2022 to 2025 is expected to range from $7 billion to $13.8 billion, Nikkei Asia reported, citing data from a research institute affiliated with South Korea's National Intelligence Service. North Korea has also received an estimated $600 million from Russia for the participation of North Korean soldiers in Russia's war against Ukraine. North Korea's revenue from its participation in the war with Ukraine is said to be comparable to the country's annual GDP, although the exact figure for North Korea's annual GDP is unknown. It is believed to be between $12 billion and $26 billion.