Our country is a major supplier of key raw materials to Europe
Building on the solid base and expertise that we have already established, Bulgaria’s future lies in the development of high added value technologies. This was said by Minister of Economy and Industry Bogdan Bogdanov at the national celebration of the Metallurgist’ Day. Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov also attended the event. The celebration of the professional holiday is organized by the Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry (BAMI) and “Aurubis Bulgaria” — one of the leading European producers of copper, which celebrates 65 years since its establishment.
According to Minister Bogdanov, metallurgy is a traditionally developed sector in the Bulgarian economy. “We have the necessary expertise and our country is a major supplier of key raw materials to Europe,” he added. The exported goods from the sector totalled BGN 10.3 billion, which is 11% of the country’s total exports.
The economy minister said that from the raw materials and components we produce, Bulgaria can create technologies that will be extremely important for Europe in the coming years — such as energy storage systems, decarbonisation systems and others. Our country ranks sixth in the EU in the production and processing of non-ferrous metals. It accounts for 14% of European copper production, 8% of lead and 4% of zinc.
“I believe that Bulgaria and its regional neighbours will play an increasing role in the development of Europe”, he said. The economy minister stressed that despite the recession observed in Western Europe, the Bulgarian economy continues to grow. In Bogdanov’s words, our country faces a number of challenges. “We need to reduce the administrative burden so that individual sectors work more efficiently,” the minister added.
Bogdan Bogdanov assured the industry representatives that they have the full support of the Ministry of Economy and Industry. According to him, the partnership between the state and the business will encourage finding additional resources and our trade representatives around the world will assist in finding new markets and opportunities for development. “Together we will be able to launch the future technological development of Bulgaria,” he said.
Students of the specialty were awarded during the ceremony celebrating the Metallurgist’s Day.