Good News for Bulgaria's Tobacco Growers

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 04/26/2010

Bulgarian tobacco growers can at least afford a sigh of relief after the country's Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, said that Bulgaria had started in the second quarter to overcome its economic crisis. Djankov said that during the first quarter of this year the government had paid out sums of money owed by the state to tobacco farmers and other agricultural producers. To do that, the government had used revenues raised by the Customs Agency, but it had turned out that these revenues were lower than had been expected. But, starting in April, he added, the government was going to have a balanced budget, or even a small monthly surplus, which presumably means the government will be able to continue to pay grower subsidies. Bulgarian tobacco growers clashed with police earlier this week as they mounted a protest in support of their demands that state subsidies for tobacco already produced and sold should be apportioned evenly between the producers. Enditem