Agricultural producer prices in Bulgaria fell by 1.9% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The change was due to a drop in prices of crop production - by 1.4% and livestock production prices - by 3.9%, according to data from the National Statistical Institute. On an annual basis, agricultural production prices fell by 7.1%, with crop production falling by 7.6% and livestock production by 5.0%. Compared to 2023, cereal prices were lower - by 14.3%, as a result of a drop in soft wheat prices by 14.0%. In technical crops, an increase of 4.3% was recorded, as a result of the increase in the prices of rapeseed - by 12.9%, of oilseed rose - by 16.3% and of the price of oilseed sunflower - by 3.7%. The prices of fresh vegetables recorded an increase of 2.8%, while the prices of fresh fruits decreased by 1.0%. The prices of live animals decreased by 7.9% compared to the same quarter of 2023, as a result of the decrease in the prices of pigs by 5.7% and of broilers by 15.7%. In livestock products, an increase in prices by 0.1% was recorded, which is a result of the increase in the prices of cow's milk by 7.7%. In livestock in the third quarter of 2024 compared to 2023 Livestock prices decreased by 4.4%, as a result of a decrease in pig prices by 1.7% and poultry prices by 9.8%. Prices of livestock products decreased by 5.6%, with the largest decrease recorded for hen eggs for consumption - by 20.8%. Hen eggs for breeding showed a price increase of 5.7%. The price index of products and services for current consumption in agriculture for the third quarter of 2024 was lower by 1.1% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and decreased by 4.3% compared to 2023. Compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023, an increase was recorded in the prices of: seeds and planting material - by 13.6%, plant protection products - by 4.8% and veterinary products - by 4.5%. The prices of: electricity and fuels decreased by 4.4%, mineral fertilizers by 3.3%, and feed by 3.9%. Compared to 2023, an increase was recorded in the prices of: sowing and planting material by 12.3%, plant protection products by 8.0%, and veterinary medical products by 4.2%. The prices of: mineral fertilizers by 17.9% and feed by 6.7% decreased.

The assets of private pension funds, in which Bulgarians are insured for additional pension, as of the end of September 2024 exceeded 25.8 billion leva, increasing by 21.21% on an annual basis, and compared to the end of 2023, the growth was 12.84%. According to data from the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC), as of September 30, 2024, the net assets of pension funds were worth 25,875,775 thousand leva. The net assets of universal pension funds are growing the fastest, reporting a growth of 22.19% compared to a year earlier. This is followed by the professional and voluntary pension funds under professional schemes with growth for the same period of 14.75 percent and 12.13 percent, respectively. The reported growth of voluntary pension funds for the period is 10.91 percent. Gross receipts from insurance contributions to pension funds in the first nine months totaled BGN 2.17 billion and increased by 16.3% compared to the first nine months of 2023. The total number of insured persons in the four types of pension funds as of the end of September 2024 was 5,045,220 people, increasing by 44,275 people, or 0.89 percent, compared to December 31, 2023, and by 67,974 people, or 1.37 percent, compared to a year earlier. The largest share of insured persons is concentrated in universal pension funds - 80.60 percent. Persons insured in voluntary and professional pension funds occupy a share of 12.64 percent and 6.56 percent, respectively. The smallest share is that of those insured in voluntary pension funds under occupational schemes – 0.20 percent.

The operator of the ferry line Bulgaria West - Port Terminal Port  has serious plans to acquire a second ferry to serve the line between Burgas and Georgia, said Tsvetelina Borislavova, founder and majority owner of the investment fund "CSIF" (Clever Synergies Investment Fund), which controls a rich portfolio of transport companies. The ferry line is currently served by one ship. This will mean that there will be a connection in both directions every three days. Currently, the operator of "DRUZHBA", the Burgas-based company "PB Management", is conducting negotiations to acquire a second vessel. Maritime.bg

United Group has acquired another Bulgarian business, online television provider Elemental.TV, through its Cypriot company EON TV International. The group owns Vivacom, Nova Television and Bulsatcom. The deal is complete and does not require regulatory approval because the revenues of the acquired company Elemental.TV are below the 3 million leva threshold required for notification to the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC). The Bulgarian company's revenues for 2023 are 2.1 million leva with owner Light Core Holding JSC. The revenues of United Group's telecommunications companies in Bulgaria, including Vivacom and Bulsatcom, are 1.27 billion leva for 2023. Vivacom acquired Bulsatcom outright in 2024. after a long-standing drama and against the will of the other two major operators, "A1 Bulgaria" and "Yettel", as well as part of the management of "Bulsatcom". Before that, "Vivacom" bought the local Internet and television providers "Net 1", "ComNet", "Networks" (which also includes "Online Direct") and "Telnet". The main user segment of Elemental.TV is Bulgarians abroad. The CEO of the previous owner of Elemental.TV - "Light Core Holding" Borislav Bozhilov is also the owner and co-founder of the company MediaHub, which develops a software platform for interactive television and streaming. He is also the co-founder of "Online Direct" - another business, first acquired by the Ruse-based "Networks" and eventually bought by United Group in 2021.

"Borsa - Stara Zagora" JSC - Sofia will be transformed by merging into "Sila Holding" AD. As a result, the company will be terminated without liquidation and all its assets will pass to "Sila Holding" under the terms of general succession. The shareholders of "Borsa - Stara Zagora" will receive shares in the former privatization fund under the terms of a transformation agreement and an annex thereto. The shareholders have decided to increase the capital of "Sila Holding" from BGN 36,852,997 to BGN 48,764,007. This will be done by issuing 11,911,010 new ordinary, registered, dematerialized shares with the right to one vote, with the right to a liquidation share, with a nominal value of BGN 1 and with an issue and fair value of BGN 3.06 each. These securities will be distributed among the shareholders of "Borsa - Stara Zagora" in accordance with the terms of the transformation agreement and the annex to the agreement. The subject of activity of "Borsa - Stara Zagora" JSC is related to financing the design and construction of the producers' market, commodity market and commodity exchange on the territory of the Stara Zagora municipality and other related procedures. The actual owner of the company is Spasimir Krumov Kanazirev, who is associated with 16 other companies. "Sila Holding" is the successor of the Regional Privatization Fund "Sila" JSC, established in 1996 to participate in mass privatization. It was renamed "Sila Holding" JSC in 1998 by a decision of the Pazardzhik District Court. The holding company has four subsidiaries: "Sun Stara Zagora Tabak" JSC - cigarette production (75.89% share), "Aro Gray" Ltd - services, "Sun Estate" Ltd - services, and "Select Asset Management" EAD - asset management, which in 2023 paid a dividend to the parent company in the amount of 580 thousand leva. Currently, the largest shareholder in the holding is "Metro Group" Ltd with a share of 40.77%, UPF "Saglasie" owns 6.96%, and UPF "CCB Sila" - 5.13% of the capital. Other companies hold 47.04% of the voting shares, and individual shareholders own 0.10 percent. The shares of "Sila Holding" are traded on the "Bulgarian Stock Exchange". Currently, deals are concluded at 3.06 leva per share. And the company is valued at over 112 million leva in market capitalization. The holding company did not pay dividends from last year's profit.

In less than two years, the Festo Production plant, which is part of the German Festo concern, was completely transformed. The products themselves were changed, with simpler products being exported to Turkey, and the factory in Sofia specializing in industrial automation solutions. The company is practically developing the entire business of the concern in the "Electrical Automation" direction, including electric drives, motors, industrial computers, etc. Since this year, all prototypes have been made in Sofia. The last part of the large-scale project was the implementation of warehouse management software in electronic production. The results are full traceability of materials, automation of warehousing processes and the implementation of X-ray technology for tracking inventory. In parallel, the company built new and upgraded existing automated vertical storage systems, and can currently store 150-200 thousand rolls of electronic components in an extremely small area. Festo Production has set itself the ambitious goal of using only green energy and has already installed 740 kW of photovoltaics. Festo Production produces products for industrial automation and is part of the German concern Festo, which has an annual turnover of 4 billion euros. The company has a factory in Sofia and a unit for tools and parts in Smolyan, as well as an R&D center in the capital and Gabrovo. For 2023, the company reports 276 million leva in revenue. It employs 1,140 people.

One of the buildings of the furniture company "Mebelor" Ltd. in Plovdiv is listed for sale for 5.3 million euros excluding VAT. The base is a modern administrative and production complex located on Karlovsko Shosse. The entire plot covers an area of ​​5875 sq m and includes an administrative building with a showroom on 7 half-storeys with a total area of ​​2324 sq m. It houses a canteen for 60 people with a professional kitchen, several meeting rooms, numerous offices of various sizes, work areas and director's offices. There are also 3 equipped hotel rooms and exhibition areas for a showroom with various square meters for displaying products. The property includes three production buildings with a total square meterage of 5,598 sq m. and 35 parking spaces. There is an opportunity to build a photovoltaic installation with an area of ​​1715 sq m. on the roof of one of the halls. The company "Mebelor" Ltd. specializes in the design, production and distribution of furniture for the home, office and hotels. The reason for the sale of the building is the expansion of the company and the construction of an even larger base. trafficnews

 "M Car Group"  will open on November 26, 2024 the new BMW service center in Veliko Tarnovo, which has an area of ​​630 sq.m. The service center will be an authorized BMW service and is the first in Bulgaria to meet the latest standards of the prestigious brand. With the new service center in Veliko Tarnovo, "M Car Group" will expand its presence in Bulgaria.

In 2023, the total EU fish catch amounted to 3.3 million tonnes live weight from a total of seven sea areas for which Eurostat has data. This is evidence of a continuing downward trend in catches from 4.6 million tonnes in 2018. The Spanish fishing fleet accounted for almost a fifth of the total EU catch in 2023 (21% or 698 000 tonnes), followed by Denmark (15% or 495 000 tonnes) and France (14% or 470 000 tonnes). Around 72% of the total EU catch was taken in the North-East Atlantic. The main fish species caught in this area were herring (18%), blue whiting (16%), sprat (13%) and mackerel (10%). Around a fifth of the total live catch in this area comes from the Danish fishing fleet (21%), followed by France (15%) and Spain (11%). Almost 10% of the total EU catch comes from the Mediterranean and Black Sea, where the main species are sardines (19%) and anchovies (18%). The Italian fleet accounted for 37% of the EU catch in this area, followed by Greece (20%), Croatia (18%) and Spain (17%). Catches in the Western Indian Ocean area account for 6% of the EU total. The majority (94% of the total live weight) of the EU fishing fleet is tuna. Around two-thirds of the EU catch in the area is taken by the Spanish fleet (68%), and the rest by the French fleet (30%). The Eastern Central Atlantic area accounts for 6% of the total EU catch. The main catches in this area are horse mackerel and skipjack tuna (21% each), followed by yellowfin tuna (13%) and mackerel (11%). Among the EU countries, Spain (40%), France (16%) and the Netherlands (11%) account for the majority of the catches in this area. Only 6% of the remaining EU catch comes from other sea areas. The main species caught in these areas are hake and squid (South-West Atlantic area), blue shark, skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna (South-East Atlantic area). Atlantic area) and redfish, flounder and cod (Northwest Atlantic area).

China has reclaimed its place as the second-largest bilateral donor to the Pacific islands after Australia, displacing the United States and shifting its spending to gain regional influence, according to a report by the Lowy Institute on foreign aid to the region, cited by Reuters. Beijing has increased its projects in 2022 after a lull during the pandemic, the report on aid to the Pacific region published on Tuesday said. Total development funding for the Pacific islands fell to its lowest level in 2022, down 18 percent, as support to deal with COVID-19 was limited. Against this background, development assistance from China amounted to $ 256 million, which is 6 percent more than the previous year.