The areas of potatoes sown by Bulgarian farmers are drastically decreasing - according to data from the latest operational analysis of the Ministry of Agriculture. The situation is similar with the production of Bulgarian cabbage. By the end of April 2025, the planted areas of potatoes were nearly 62% below the level of a year ago, and with cabbage in the open air - 43% less, according to the data. Due to the atypical sub-zero temperatures, the April snow in the semi-mountainous and mountainous regions, where 70 percent of potato production is located, sowing has been delayed by nearly a month. The real picture of the situation this year will become clear at the end of May. And yet - according to official data, the decrease in areas on an annual basis since 2023 is 45 percent. According to the industry, the reason is that potato production is unattractive, difficult and unprofitable. Since the beginning of the year, 21% fewer tomatoes and 22% fewer cucumbers have been harvested in greenhouses in our country compared to the previous period in 2024. This confirms the unofficial data of farmers that there are fewer and fewer Bulgarian fruits and vegetables on the Bulgarian market.

The number of residential buildings put into operation in Bulgaria in the first quarter of 2025 was 1052, and the newly built dwellings in them were 4086. The largest relative share is of newly built houses (77.2 percent), followed by housing cooperatives (15.9 percent). This is shown by preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI). Of the newly built residential buildings with reinforced concrete construction, 75.9 percent were, with brick - 19.3 percent, with another - 4.2 percent, and with panel - 0.6 percent. In the first quarter of 2025, the most residential buildings were put into operation in the districts of Sofia (capital) - 163 buildings with 1341 dwellings, Plovdiv - 135 buildings with 418 dwellings, and Varna - 130 buildings with 517 dwellings in them. The highest in the first quarter of 2025 was the share of newly built dwellings with two rooms (38.1 percent), followed by those with three rooms (37.8 percent), and the lowest was the share of dwellings with one room - 2.8 percent. The total useful area of ​​newly built dwellings in the first quarter of 2025 was 414.5 thousand sq. m, and the living area - 279.7 thousand sq. m. The average living area of ​​a newly built dwelling is 68.5 sq. m. The largest average living area of ​​a newly built dwelling was registered in the districts of Vidin - 151.8 sq. m, and Kardzhali - 120.9 sq. m, and the smallest - in the districts of Pleven - 45.8 sq. m, and Razgrad - 47.5 sq. m.

In 2024, national service providers (NSPs) received about 63 million leva in commissions from road tolls collected in Bulgaria. However, how much each of the two companies – Intelligent Traffic Systems and Digital Smart Infrastructure – received remains a secret, as the Road Infrastructure Agency refused to provide the information. In early 2023, it became clear that from the launch of the toll system in 2019 to 2022 inclusive, the two companies received over 110 million leva. In January 2024, the commissions for 2023 became clear - over 57.2 million leva. The RIA announced that in 2024, over 6.5 million e-vignettes were sold, and the revenues were nearly 281 million leva. Of all the annual vignettes sold, 2,471,653 are annual, and 2,533,800 are weekly. This is followed by monthly vignettes – 777,618, weekend vignettes – 640,217, and quarterly vignettes – 102,064. Another 237,292 vehicle owners have received free e-vignettes, provided through the Social Assistance Agency. They are worth over BGN 20.6 million and are at the expense of the Road Infrastructure Agency budget. Over BGN 899 million are the registered revenues from road tolls in 2024. Of these, BGN 280,994,977 are from e-vignettes, and BGN 589,953,590 from tolls (toll declarations and route cards). The proceeds from the control activity - imposed compensatory fees and acts for establishing administrative violations, are 28,333,843 leva. The accounts for the collected commissions are based on the total revenues collected in the amount of nearly 900 million leva. For each sale of a vignette or toll, the two companies receive 7 percent. Over the past year and a half, the Road Infrastructure Agency has tried to increase competition by signing a contract with two companies - Toll Bulgaria and Nipo-Electronics. Before they could start selling road tolls, however, they had to be integrated with the toll system. A third company - Icom - according to the latest information was supposed to provide an up-to-date operating plan and then proceed to sign a contract. In fact, these contracts were not extended and were terminated.

The chain of DIY stores Praktis announced the opening of its largest retail outlet in Bulgaria. The facility is located at 527 Botevgradsko Shose Blvd. in Sofia next to XOPark and provides both modern retail space and a wide range of products. With a total area of ​​22,743 sq. m., the largest Praktis store for construction and repair activities offers a wide variety of materials and tools. The assortment includes over 50,000 products - from construction materials and equipment to lighting, electrical appliances, entire kitchens, curtains and home textiles. The new facility has 244 parking spaces, including for people with disabilities, as well as charging stations for electric vehicles. Visitors will also find several specialized stores and an Italian restaurant. The new facility offers a variety of services aimed at both professionals and amateurs who want to implement large-scale or individual projects. Among the main services are cutting and edging of panels, tinting of paints, preparation of 3D projects for bathrooms and kitchens, as well as rental machines for specific activities. The store provides locksmith and repair services, landscape projects, installations, transport and more. The opening ceremony of the largest DIY store in our country will be held on May 14.

Retail parks in Bulgaria continue to close the gap with shopping centers and now account for 75% of their total area. This is according to an analysis by the consulting company Cushman & Wakefield Forton for the first quarter of 2025. Just three months earlier, the ratio was 70%, which highlights the dynamics in this segment. The new 17,000 sq m, realized mainly through the expansion of XOPark Sofia, brought the total volume of retail parks to 594,000 sq m, distributed in 60 locations in the country. 11 new retail parks with a total area of ​​164,000 sq m are currently being built, with nearly half of them outside the four largest cities. The retail format is dominated by affordable brands such as Pepco, Kik, Sinsay, DM and Jysk – the five largest tenants in the country with a total of 171 sites. Malls in large cities are operating successfully, there is interest and real deals, the share of vacant space is low, and rents are growing smoothly. However, no new projects are expected in the coming months. The percentage of vacant space in shopping centers and parks remains low throughout the country. Prime rents in Sofia are rising to 45 euros/sq m in shopping centers against the backdrop of 43 euros at the end of 2024. Levels in retail parks are growing to 13 euros/sq m against 12.5 euros in the previous quarter. A slight increase is also noted in shopping streets, where the average rent is currently 59 euros per sq m. Yields remain unchanged at 7.5% in both shopping centers and retail parks.

The Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) has sanctioned Kaufland Bulgaria for unfair trade practices in the supply chain of agricultural and food products. The retail chain has been fined two fines totaling BGN 500,000 for two violations under Art. 37b, para. 1, item 4 of the CPC in connection with payments requested and made by suppliers that are not related to the sale of the suppliers' products in full. These are agricultural and food products. The CPC believes that in this way a significant part of the economic burden is transferred to suppliers for payment for activities that are related to the buyer's main commercial activity and have no direct connection with the provision of these services, respectively are not related to the transactions for the sale of food products by suppliers.

Four Bulgarian mineral waters are expected to receive greater protection under European quality schemes. "Natural Mineral Water Mihalkovo - Naturally Carbonated", "Natural Mineral Water Hissar" and "Natural Mineral Water Velingrad" have applied for entry into the European Register of Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), and "Natural Mineral Water from Gorna Banya" - for a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Currently, mineral waters with geographical indications have been registered at the national level, namely in the State Register of the Patent Office. These registrations can be sent to the European Commission, in order to apply for registration and shorten part of the procedure. The Bulgarian producers who expressed a desire to register have prepared their documentation with the assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture, which will be sent to the European Commission by May 14, 2025. They are to be considered at the European level, after which a decision will be made on their entry into the register. Food products with a protected designation of origin (PDO) have the strongest links to the place of production. Every part of the production, processing and preparation process must take place in the specific region. These products have the highest degree of protection against unauthorized use of the name. This is especially important when entering foreign markets. Products with a protected geographical indication (PGI) also originate from a specific place, region or country, and this geographical origin also determines their quality. In these cases, at least one of the stages of the production process must take place in the defined geographical area.

The regular general meeting of shareholders of the largest public company, owner of agricultural land in the country - "Advance Terrafund" REIT has decided to distribute a dividend for 2024. This is a gross amount per share of 0.095 leva. Thus, 94.01% of the profit for the financial year 2024, determined in accordance with Art. 29, para. 3 of the Law on Special Purpose Companies and Securitization Companies in the total amount of 8,600,185.10 leva, will be distributed as a dividend. "Advance Terrafund" paid a gross dividend of 0.2005 leva per share from the net profit for 2023. The company traditionally distributes more than the legally required 90% of the profit. The total amount of the dividend for 2023 is BGN 17,064,573. Since 2010, the agricultural fund has regularly paid out a portion of its profits to its shareholders.

Greece plans to repay loans from its first bailout program 10 years earlier than planned, a move that will ease the country's debt burden in the future, Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierakakis said. Under the current schedule, the last repayment of this set of loans was scheduled for 2041, but now the government in Athens wants to repay the entire amount by 2031. The country has already repaid some of its loans early and plans to do so again in 2025, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. Greece currently owes 31.6 billion euros under the so-called Greek credit facility out of a total of 52.9 billion euros in initial loans granted by eurozone countries back in 2010. The country has received a total of three international bailouts, mostly from eurozone countries, during the nearly decade-long sovereign debt crisis. The move to repay the extra loans early comes as Athens is over-achieving its fiscal targets, which will help ease debt burdens from 2032 onwards. In 2018, the eurozone bailout fund approved a set of debt relief measures for Greece, including a deferral of interest and amortization, meaning the country will not start repaying most of its loans under the second bailout until 2033. The country’s public debt fell to 153.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, compared with a target of 154%, and also fell in nominal terms. It is expected to fall below 150% this year. Greece's rapid debt reduction, combined with a strong economy and budget overruns, are among the reasons why the country's credit rating has regained investment-grade status. Greece is one of only six European Union (EU) countries to post a budget surplus in 2024 - an unexpected achievement largely due to the government's efforts to crack down on tax evasion.

Trade turnover between China and the United States for the period January-April 2025 as a whole fell by 3.1% year-on-year to $200.13 billion, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China, Prime writes. The United States remains China's third largest trading partner, after ASEAN countries and the European Union - but as a separate country it ranks first. According to data from Chinese customs, exports from China to the United States for the first 4 months of the year fell by 2.5% year-on-year to $148.602 billion. At the same time, the United States imported goods worth $51.528 billion into China during the period, which is a decrease of 4.7% compared to the same period last year. In financial terms, the United States imports three times more goods from China than it exports to it - the country that is already considered its biggest economic competitor. In April alone (when the US imposed new, much higher import tariffs on goods from China), trade between the two countries amounted to $45.59 billion, which is 10% less than the average for the first 4 months of the year. Specifically, in April, the US imported goods worth $12.566 billion to China, and China imported goods worth $33.024 billion to the US. For the whole of 2024, trade between China and the US is estimated at $688.28 billion, which is an increase of 3.7% compared to the previous year.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its forecast for the yuan to 7 per dollar over the next 12 months, as U.S.-China trade talks continue and China’s exports remain strong. The more upbeat view on the Chinese currency comes after the world’s two largest economies made progress in trade talks over the weekend. BNP Paribas Asset Management also expects the yuan to hit 7 per dollar this year if the U.S. dollar’s ​​weakness persists and China’s economic growth surprises with an upside. “If the U.S. dollar continues to weaken, then there will be more room for the yuan to appreciate,” Rick Chun, the firm’s portfolio manager for emerging markets fixed income, said in an interview. “If China’s growth eventually surprises the market and reaches, say, more than 5% or even 5.5%, that would also provide very good upside potential.” For now, the US tariffs are still hurting the Chinese economy, with data showing consumer deflation extended for a third month in April before the government last week announced a raft of measures to support the shrinking economy. China has opted for alternative policy tools such as monetary easing and government bond issuance to support the economy, rather than opting for a yuan devaluation, a move that could fuel capital outflows.