In the period January - November 2023, the export of goods from Bulgaria to the EU decreased by 9.0% compared to the same period in 2022 and amounted to BGN 51.278 billion, according to data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI). Bulgaria's main trading partners are Germany, Romania, Italy, Greece and France, which form 61.1% of exports to EU member states. In the case of exports, distributed according to the Standard Foreign Trade Classification, the largest growth was noted in the "Non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and tobacco" sector (13.0%). The largest decrease was observed in the sector "Fats, oils and waxes of animal and plant origin" (64.6%). In November 2023, exports to the EU decreased by 16.5% compared to the same month of the previous year and amounted to BGN 4.52 billion. The import of goods into Bulgaria from the EU in the period January - November 2023 decreased by 2.5% compared to the same period in 2022 and was worth BGN 53.34 billion (at CIF prices). The value volume of goods imported from Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece and the Netherlands is the largest. In terms of imports, the largest increase was recorded in the "Non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and tobacco" sector (17.1%). The biggest decline was observed in the sector "Mineral fuels, oils and similar products" (64.7%). In November 2023, Bulgaria's imports from EU member states decreased by 8.4% compared to the same month of the previous year and amounted to BGN 5.081 billion. The foreign trade balance (FOB export - CIF import) of Bulgaria with the EU in the period January - November 2023 is negative and is worth BGN 2.061 billion. NSI also published data on Bulgaria's trade with third countries, which show that exports in 2023 decreased by 2.9% compared to 2022 and amounted to BGN 31.385 billion. Bulgaria's main trading partners are Turkey, the United States of America, China, Serbia, Ukraine, the Republic of North Macedonia and Egypt, which form 50.0% of exports to third countries. In December 2023, the export of goods from Bulgaria to third countries increased by 3.7% compared to the same month of the previous year and amounted to BGN 2.603 billion. The import of goods into Bulgaria from third countries in 2023 decreased by 19.7% compared to 2022 and was worth BGN 38.766 billion (at CIF prices). The largest value volume of goods imported from Turkey, the Russian Federation, China and Serbia.

The total turnover in the Wine sector of Bulgaria has been growing minimally in recent years - in 2008 it was about BGN 270 million (for all companies in the sector, but excluding the large producers of alcohol), and in 2022 it was about BGN 300 BGN million. More than half of these revenues come from the 20 largest companies. The Bulgarian winery with the largest income from the sale of wine is "Vineks-Slavyantsi". In 2022, they exceed BGN 32 million, mainly from exports. The business of the winery, which has facilities in Slavyantsi, Sungurlare, Lozarevo and Karnobat, is mainly in foreign markets. The leader is Sweden, as the company has had a contract with the state monopoly in the country for many years. There are also exports to Denmark, Belgium, Germany, England, Poland and others. The company is owned by the businessman Zheko Zhekov, and the winery is managed by his son Georgi Zhekov. "Domain Boyar" is in second position with revenues of BGN 22 million. About ¼ of the production of the winery to Sliven is for export, or about 1.8 million bottles, according to its executive director Evgeni Haramliyski. Its main markets are Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Germany and Great Britain. By 2015-2016, over half of the winery's revenue was from exports, while now the domestic market dominates. In 2010, Margarit Todorov finally sold the winery to Santa Ana Ventures, registered in the British Virgin Islands (which, according to the industry, was associated with the main shareholders of First Investment Bank). Today the cellar is owned by Evgeni Haramliyski. In third place in terms of revenue is "Katarzhina" - BGN 15 million, as the winery sells mainly on the domestic market. It is one of the few successful external investments in Bulgaria, with a relatively large capacity of 1.2 million liters. It was established in 2006 near the Sakar village of Mezek by the former manager of the French holding company Marie Brizard (formerly Belvedere) Krzysztof Triliński. More significant exports are carried out by "Besa Vali", "Logodazh", "Mirolio", as well as "Vinivel" (Yamantievi cellar) in Sakar. Domaine Menada winery is constantly improving its exports, having a chance for easier access to foreign markets thanks to the parent company - the French concern Marie Brizard. In 2002, he bought the cellar in Stara Zagora. The old Loviko Suhindol winery, which today is owned by the Nov Vek holding, also sells wine to foreign markets.

After a competition, a new board of directors of the State Consolidation Company was elected. The new executive director is Konstantin Stoychev, and the members are Teodora Stoyanova, Elena Boltadzhieva, Desislava Chalemova and Asen Nenchev. The previous management of State Consolidation Company was appointed temporarily by the Minister of Economy and Industry Bogdan Bogdanov in August 2023 with a horizon and work goals of 6 months, during which a transparent competition for a new management had to be organized. It found a number of violations - the company was in systematic non-fulfillment of the Law on Public Enterprises, including missing financial statements for 2021 and 2022, and a large number of companies under the State Consolidation Company did not have approved business programs. The consolidation company was created by a decision of the first "Borisov" cabinet in 2010, including the companies in which the state is the owner. From its inception until now, the company's history has been publicly known for scandals due to controversial decisions and frequent conflicts and changes in its management. ​

The Bulgarian manufacturer of nanosatellites "Endurosat" received another financial support from external investors nine months ago for its expansion of 10 million dollars, with the main investor being the European fund CEECAT Capital. The company will soon launch a new generation of satellites, with which it expects to double its revenue compared to 2022. The team is growing by another 55 people and currently reaches over 160 people. The company already has offices in six locations around the world - in Bulgaria, where its main activity is, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Germany and the USA. Following CEECAT Capital's investment last year, the Luxembourg-registered EnduroSat was listed as the sole owner of the company. After Endurosat completed its clean room project last year and expanded its satellite testing and assembly laboratories in Sofia, it is already producing a record eight satellites per month in the last two months of 2023. In 2023, the company patented its DeskSat desktop satellite concept, which is a clone of the already-in-orbit space observer. On it, the payloads (cameras, sensors, experimental equipment, etc.), the operations, as well as the commands sent from the control room are developed, thus reducing the risk of damage to the equipment in orbit. As an important asset of the company, they define the built clean room. Although the initially planned investment of BGN 4.17 million eventually grew to over BGN 5 million, which includes the room itself, as well as the equipment in it. The contractor for it is the German Viessmann Technologies, and the project managed to finish six months earlier than planned. "Endurosat" developed a successful partnership on several programs, including Toliman, PADRE, "Copernicus" and the creation of the Flamingo satellite.

Over the past two years, the capacity of photovoltaic parks in Bulgaria has doubled, with around 1.3 gigawatts of new photovoltaics being built last year alone. The honorary chairman of DPS Ahmed Dogan is now included in the list of potential investors in new solar capacities. Already in 2021, the Hermes Solar company, whose ownership is shared between Snezhana Karova (95%) and the Russian citizen Georgiy Seropyan and owns the famous sea barn of Dogan in Rosenets, purchased two properties from the municipality of Radomir. They are a total of 718 acres, having previously been converted from public to private municipal ownership by the local government. Another six municipal properties with an area of 692 decares were purchased by the same procedure a little earlier, but from another company - "Blue Energies", whose owners are Nina Petrova-Kashkina and Snezhana Karova. Kashkina is the executive director of Delta Epsilon, which owns Dogan's Boyan Saray and is owned by Varna TPP. Key to these grounds is that they are located right next to the former LeCoCo metallurgical plant and, above all, to a large substation that can help quickly and easily bring a solar installation to the grid. The 1,400 acres in question were purchased for BGN 107,000, which is about BGN 80 per acre. According to the investment intention to the municipality of Kameno, from the end of 2021, the company "BIO PD Solar Energy" wants to build a 180-megawatt solar park on municipal properties in the land of the village of Zlatitsa. The company was established in early 2021 and, after several changes in ownership, is currently 75% owned by Helios Construction Project and 25% by Cyprus-registered Terna Energy Overseas Limited (part of the Greek Terna Group, known here as its construction unit GEK Terna). The Bulgarian company "Terna" is also a pledged creditor with 8.9 million euros. In November 2021, the municipality of Kameno gave consent for paid use and construction to the company, with the right to build and easements valid for 50 years. The fixed fee for the use of municipal properties is about BGN 70,000 per year. The total area of the eight properties in Burgas is over 2,000 decares, and if the investment is realized, it will be for at least BGN 180 million. The group's solar plans also include a brand new project from the end of last year in Kazanlak. Its size is more modest - the maximum power there should be up to 50 megawatts on a terrain of 375 acres of municipal property around the village of Kanchevo. The company that received the right of use for the five landed properties is "GH Project". The duo Kashkina - Karova owns 46% of it, and the remaining share is divided between Todor Abadjiev and Hristomil Rahmanliev. The properties are agricultural land of the 7th category, which allows the installation of solar panels without changing the status, but only after concluding an accession contract. All the projects that are related to companies around the leader of the DPS, if they are started, can fundamentally change the energy picture in Bulgaria.

The net revenue from sales of production of "Aroma" JSC- Sofia between January and December last year decreased to BGN 36.46 million. For comparison, for the same period of 2022, the amount was BGN 36.72 million. Aroma produces cosmetic products including toothpastes, white cosmetics, shampoos, hair dyes, aerosol products, perfumes and soaps. The main markets of the company are Bulgaria and the countries of the Balkan region, the European Union and the Middle East. The production activity of the enterprise is located in Sofia. The expenses for the activities of "Aroma" at the end of December were reduced to BGN 34.28 million, compared to BGN 36.06 million for the same period of 2022. The profit after taxes for January - December 2023 grows to BGN 1.95 million compared to only BGN 589 thousand for the same period in 2022. In recent years, the cosmetics company has reoriented and repositioned itself, and at the moment a large part of sales are made abroad. Since the beginning of 2014, the company has been carrying out its production activities in the newly built factory, which meets the requirements for achieving good production practices, a standard required by most global traders and manufacturers. The main markets for the company are Great Britain, France, the Scandinavian countries, Bulgaria, Romania, the Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East. There, the company has signed direct contracts with leading wholesalers and retailers, producing products under their brands. The main shareholders in the company are Harisson Management Limited, Malta with a share of 44.88% of the capital, "Novarus" EOOD, Sofia - with 24.59%, Lukan Dimitrov Lukanov - with 12.91%, Dimitar Lukanov Lukanov - with 6.94% and "TELEKOMPLEKT INVEST" AD , Sofia - with 5% of the shares with voting rights.

According to Eurostat data for 2021, 1.1% of manufacturers' enterprises in the European Union (EU) market were under foreign control. More than half (59.4%) were controlled by companies from other EU countries and 40.6% were registered outside the EU. Despite their negligible share, foreign-controlled enterprises have contributed significantly to the EU economy, accounting for 22.5% of the value added in the EU market. The value added of foreign-controlled enterprises was highest in Ireland (71.9%), Luxembourg (55.5%) and Slovakia (49.4%). Conversely, the lowest share of value added is observed in France (14.7%), Cyprus (15.6%) and Germany (16.7%). Regarding the number of enterprises, the share of those with foreign control was highest in Luxembourg (29.2%), followed by Estonia (10.3%) and Poland (6.8%). At the other end of the range, Belgium (0.1%), Italy (0.3%) and France (0.4%) have the lowest share of foreign enterprises in the market producer economy. In terms of employed and self-employed persons, foreign-controlled enterprises account for 15.0% of jobs in the EU. The largest share of them was registered in Luxembourg (43.8%), Poland (32.1%) and Ireland (28.2%). In contrast, foreign-controlled enterprises account for less than 10% of jobs in Greece (7.5%), Cyprus (7.8%) and Italy (9.5%). manager.bg

U.S. exports of agricultural and related products reached $191 billion in 2023, down 10% from the record in 2022, as both commodity prices and shipment volumes declined. a three-year low, although similar to 2021 levels and reflecting competition from key suppliers, especially when it comes to meeting Chinese demand, Reuters wrote. Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Wednesday showed that exports of bulk commodities, which include top-grossing products such as soybeans, corn, wheat and cotton, hit a 10-year low in volume in 2023 This volume is down 17% from 2022 - the biggest annual decline since 1985. Last year's bulk U.S. agricultural exports are still at a 10-year low, even when China's share is taken out, although the annual decline narrows to 10%, the same as in 2022, excluding China. These declines are due to high prices and increased supply from competing exporting countries. Top exporter Brazil is a prime example, with its combined 2023 corn and soybean shipments totaling nearly 158 million metric tons, about 29% more than the 2022 record. U.S. corn plus soybean exports last year totaled 94 million tonnes, down 18% year-on-year to a four-year low. This awkward predicament for US exporters was highlighted in December as China was the destination for 38% of shipments, down from the three-year average and from 59% for the month. Outside of the 2018 trade war, this was China's lowest share of December US soybean shipments since 2002. Despite the decline in the agricultural sector, all US exports, including goods and services, rose 1% in 2023 .to a new record of $3.05 trillion. However, this annual growth rate pales in comparison to the 18% and 19% seen in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Agriculture and related products accounted for 6.2% of all U.S. exports last year, a four-year low and share declines of more than 7% over the previous three years. By value, last year's bulk U.S. commodity exports are down 22% from a 2022 peak. The average U.S. soybean export price in 2023 fell 5% year-over-year, and the price of corn fell 10 %, although both were still higher than in 2021. US wheat export prices fell 16% last year and cotton prices fell 19%, combining with large annual volume declines. U.S. cotton supplies fell 18 percent year-on-year to a seven-year low, and wheat supplies were the weakest since 1971, down 13 percent year-on-year. U.S. soybean oil exports in 2023 plunged 76% year over year as the focus increasingly shifted to domestic use, and volume was the lowest on record since 1967. Exports of beef and beef products fell 12% from its 2022 high, hitting a three-year low due to a pullback by Asian buyers. It wasn't all doom and gloom for U.S. agricultural exports last year, as shipments of soybean meal reached a record 14.1 million tons, about 10% above the previous peak set in 2018. Both years featured large losses of crop in top flour exporter Argentina, and better prospects for a 2024 crop mean the U.S. feeding boost may be temporary. Exports of pork and pork products rose 8% by volume in 2023, although they remained below strong Chinese demand in 2020 and 2021. A surge in domestic corn processing allowed U.S. ethanol exports last year to rose 9% to a four-year high. By value, Canada, China and Mexico account for about half of all US agricultural and related exports in 2023, with Canada slightly ahead of China for the first time in four years. Mexico claimed a record 15.6 percent share of last year's U.S. agricultural exports, up from a previous peak of 13.9 percent in 2022. Canada accounted for 17.3 percent of the U.S. total, the highest since 2006 .China's share fell to a four-year low of 16.6% from a record high of 19.2% in 2022, and China's share in 2023 was similar to that seen in 2014 and 2016.