Bulgaria: U.S. Exports to Bulgaria Ride Wave of Indirect Trade

According to the Global Trade Atlas (GTA), in 2018 Bulgaria imported U.S. food and agricultural products valued at $31 million. Conversely, GTA also reported that in 2018 the United States exported about $26 million of food and agricultural products to Bulgaria. Moreover, according to official EU Intrastat data, Bulgarian imports of U.S. food and agricultural products in 2018 were $69 million, considerably higher than either aforementioned data set. This report attempts to provide USDA constituents with another snapshot of the U.S. food and agricultural market in Bulgaria. Post estimates that over 55 percent of U.S. food and agriculture products consumed in Bulgaria are either transshipped through third-country EU ports of entry and/or are re-exported via third-country EU distributors. As a result, the U.S. Census Bureau’s (BICO) trade data and GTA data are not fully reliable indicators for fully assessing market opportunities in Bulgaria. 

Bulgaria: U.S. Exports to Bulgaria Ride Wave of Indirect Trade