This is the second Asian country to produce Bulgarian yoghurt with the bacterium ‘Lactobacillus bulgaricus’
Mongolia is the second Asian country to produce Bulgarian yoghurt with the bacterium ‘Lactobacillus bulgaricus’. An agreement for the use of the license was signed between LB Bulgaricum and one of the largest Mongolian food production companies, APU Company. The initiative to enter the Asian market was of the Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stojanov and it is happening with the active support of the Ambassador of Mongolia in Bulgaria H.E. Ms Lkhagvasuren Sayanaa. The two also attended the official signing of the document.
‘Talks on this cooperation started in December last year and in just four months we have managed to reach today’s agreement. It will allow authentic Bulgarian yoghurt to be sold in Mongolia,’ said Minister Nikola Stojanov. The Minister of Economy and H.E. Lkhagvasuren Sayanaa stressed that this is a step in the direction of strengthening bilateral economic relations between Bulgaria and Mongolia.
‘Bulgaria is the homeland of yoghurt and we will use the national traditional technology to make the dairy products in Mongolia,’ said the management of APU Company. On their part, it was emphasized that the agreement would allow them to meet one of the objectives set by the Mongolian state for the production of healthy and useful food. They have already visited the base of LB in Vidin to get acquainted with the production process in the Bulgarian company. There is also interest in joint development projects and the creation of joint products tailored to the specificities of the Mongolian market.
The agreement has a term of five years. The Mongolian APU Company is licensed to develop, produce, sell and distribute dairy products with original Bulgarian ferments in Mongolia, for which it will also pay licensing fees to LB Bulgaricum. ‘We are promoting Bulgaria, but we are also increasing revenues for Bulgarian enterprise,’ Minister Stojanov emphasized.
APU Company was founded in 1924 and was one of the first Mongolian companies specializing in food and beverage production. The company’s total market share in the domestic dairy market is 31%. It is in the top 5 of the Mongolian companies in the amount of taxes paid. One of the main shareholders in the company is Heineken. It offers more than 320 products, and in 2014 it set up its own dairy factory and has been making cheese since last year. The company is also developing a Mongolian nomadic dairy project (YAK Project).
