Bulgarian producers’ exports via Lidl grew by 11.6% in the first half of the year

Over 23.5 million euros is the value of exports realized by Bulgarian producers in Lidl's European network of supermarkets for the period January - June 2024. The export turnover marks an increase of 11.6% compared to the same period last year.

In the first half of 2024, together via Lidl, a total of 36 Bulgarian companies exported their products to 27 countries. The largest export value destinations are Romania (8 million euros), followed by Greece (6.3 million euros), Germany (2.3 million euros) and Serbia (1.5 million euros).

The growing exports of our Bulgarian suppliers is proof of the good cooperation and successful partnerships that we are constantly and purposefully building. The products produced in our country meet all international quality standards and satisfy the expectations of more and more consumers abroad," commented Dragomir Iliev, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Lidl Bulgaria.

"This year, for the first time, we realized a greater export of Bulgarian fruits and vegetables, and this makes us very happy, as we hope that this positive trend will be maintained. We will continue our commitment to support the Bulgarian producers’ access to new international markets and we expect to be increasingly successful together."

Thanks to Lidl, Bulgarian fruits and vegetables usually find a market in countries such as Greece, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania and Latvia. For the first six months of the year, the export of fruits and vegetables has doubled in terms of turnover, and among the exported products are also raspberries, eggplant, watermelon, cherries, zucchini, plums and cucumbers.

The distribution of the highest turnover suppliers and the corresponding most preferred export products remained stable compared to the same period last year. The maker of bread and bakery products Hebar EAD has the highest export output for the first half of 2024 in the amount of 4.7 million euros, followed by Klas Olio EAD (sunflower oil) with a turnover for the same period of 4.3 million euros. Among the largest Bulgarian export suppliers in Lidl's European network are also Nuhealth AD (rice biscuits and chips) with a turnover of 2.2 million euros and Bella Bulgaria AD with exports of 2.5 million euros.

Among the most exported products for the first half of this year are dairy products, such as buffalo and sheep yogurt, ayran (yogurt drink), grilled cheese, cream, sheep and buffalo cheese, as well as some oriental type cheeses - Topika, Burmali and Chechil, which are received particularly well in the German market.

Tims Foods EOOD is another food producer with good results for the first half of the year and serious chances of increasing its export volumes. Under its own brand, the company mostly exports kozunaks (sweet brioche bread) and pastries, but this year it also began exporting hamburger buns under Lidl's own brand to Croatia and Serbia. Hamburger buns are to be supplied to Romania as well.

Lidl's own brands are well known to consumers in other European countries which is why they are a successful means through which Bulgarian manufacturers, partners of the supermarket chain, can easily reach new markets and receive many times greater opportunities for the sale of their products.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov