More than 2.3m tonnes of grain a year could go by rail, mostly from northern Bulgaria to the port of Varna and other destinations. The state is studying this, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said. Ministers Georgi Peev and Plamen Abrovski discussed the issue with grain growers, grain traders and BDZ Freight.
A week ago, on 23 October, Prime Minister Rumen Radev met grain growers to talk about moving grain to ports by train. At the time, grain was going by lorry because low water on the Danube makes shipping hard. Now the two ministers are looking for specific technical solutions to move farm produce more efficiently and at more competitive prices.
How it all started: Radev meets grain farmers on shipping export grain to ports by BDZ trains
Farmers in Vidin, Vratsa and Montana have it hardest, says the National Association of Grain Producers (NAZ). They are far from the big ports, and lorries are costly. As a result, traders there face less competition, and that hits purchase prices. Local growers find it harder to sell their grain, even when the market is good.
Abrovski said the first job is to find out how much grain each region has, starting with Vidin, Vratsa, Montana and Pleven. Next come routes, volumes, deadlines and what the rail carriers can handle. "It is important to start from the specific regions and the real amounts of grain that need to be moved," said the agriculture and food minister.
Peev asked businesses for firm requests with expected volumes and dates. The ministry will use them to run the numbers, decide whether it can shift resources and seek lower transport prices. The transport ministry will provide data on available stations, what they can handle and how much they can carry in each region.
The first step is a review of the stations where grain can be loaded and unloaded. Growers and traders will get the information. The ministry will also check whether small freight stations that are now closed can reopen.
The talks also covered rail freight prices, spare capacity and investment in terminals in Vidin, Vratsa and Montana. NAZ believes the grain transport needs better organisation, for example by collecting grain from separate farms into larger batches.
Peev said the state has so far not invested enough in stations as loading points. Intermodal terminals are planned, where cargo moves from lorries to trains and large amounts of grain can be moved more easily. Peev said this helps both sides: BDZ Freight will get more orders, and growers will have more ways to sell.
The ministers also discussed shipping conditions in the Black Sea. Peev said the ports of Varna and Burgas are working normally, ship traffic in Bulgarian waters has increased, and the incidents that have been logged were outside territorial waters.
Three drones hit a ship carrying lithium-ion batteries this week about 17 nautical miles from Cape Kaliakra, BTA reported.