CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROCESSED FOOD INDUSTRY OF BULGARIA IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Abstract

The subject of this research is the analysis of
competitiveness of the Bulgarian food industry on the international
market, with the aim of identifying changes in the export structure of
products classified according to commodity groups (SITC rev.3). In
other words, the goal was to point out the sectors which aredeveloping
faster and have positive tendencies and influence on the overall
competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy. The research used
descriptive statistical data processing, the index of comparative
advantage of exports - RCA and the index of specialization in foreign
trade - GL index. The research results showed that in the analyzed
period there were significant changes in the structure of exports, so
the groups with leading positions in the initial year of analysis lost
their position and were replaced by products of other commodity
groups. An increase in the comparative advantage of exports was also
confirmed in: Vegetable fats and oils; Cereals and other cereal
products; Essential oils, perfumery; Meat and edible leftovers; Rice;
Sugar, molasses and honey; etc. It was also established that the
products with a pronounced intra-industrial character of exchange in
2017 were: Fruit and vegetable juices; Sugar products; Meat and
edible residues; Bird eggs and yolks, egg whites; Butter and other fats
obtained from milk, milk spreads, etc.