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I think it is wastefulness to possess land so rich and fertile and not to exploit it, not with the usual crops but new modern developments that will have future. I turned to tree plantations which are not well developed in Greece, except the olive tree. Currently, there is no production in the country of many different types like chestnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and a bunch of other cultures. They are being imported to meet the demand. It is the same in Bulgaria. Moreover, the problem there is that even local producers prefer to export their goods abroad not because there is no domestic demand but because the export brings greater profit. On the other hand, the land in Bulgaria is purchased through brokerage firms. This is an additional expense and the investment should begin to pay back.

It is all still in a primary stage and needs more work. Earth and man alike need time and attention to regain their best form when they were unkempt. I think that after two years we will be able to make necessary changes and to conduct studies that will found out what are the most suitable crops for this soil.

Did you face corruption?

No, I didn’t. Even if there is corruption, and I know there is, it does not affect small and medium businesses. I heard about cases of very large projects under SAPARD of companies linked to the ruling forces. There were breaches found. The cases were investigated, the irregularities found and the culprits had to pay the money back, as far as I know. It is clear there is corruption in Bulgaria but it is at the higher levels and does not affect the everyday life of ordinary people so much as in Greece.

Unfortunately, not all the people in Bulgaria are well disposed to  Greeks for a variety of reasons. Were there any problems with the Bulgarians at the beginning?

Both sides were cautious at first. There is also a historical burden that makes the relations between the two nationalities more difficult unlike, for example, the relations between the Greeks and the Serbs. We started to communicate more closely only in the last twenty years. We wanted to do business at first but we did not know what to expect. On the other hand, the Bulgarians were not sure of our intentions from the start and there was a distance. In the end the personal contact solved all the problems. The both sides got to know each other and the objectives and expectations were clear.

What is the most serious problem in Bulgaria which you faced?

There is a lack of skilled people willing to work. The strongest people of Bulgaria willing to achieve something, the people of working age, have gone abroad or to the cities. About a million and half people have left the country since the early nineties. They live in Spain, Greece, Italy, USA today. Many of those who stayed in Bulgaria are either in retirement or approaching retirement age, or unwilling to engage in agriculture, or people (politically correct, he explained elegantly) of low working culture and without motivation – lazybones. This is my opinion.

There are a small number of people that have graduated in agronomy. They work as specialists in large corporations in the sector in cities such as Pleven, Lovech, Dobrich, or in other provincial cities and are not ready to come to work in a small company that has just begun to operate.

The first time I saw you you had a bottle of Shumensko in your hand. What are your favourite Bulgarian products?

First, let me tell you about the bottle of Shumensko. This is a pretty good beer that I think is much better than the well known Amstel or Hayniken which are also more expensive. I love lutenitsa. There are many good wines in Bulgaria also, various sausages and other meat products of very good quality. You can buy very tasty and organic cheese from local producers. It is still a little wild in taste like the wine. They have Balkan flavour and are quite different from the French types of cheese which are known for their elegant taste.

However, many Bulgarian products are of high quality and are essentially organic products without having the stamp for that. The land is fertile and can grow a high quality product of balanced quality and quantity of the stuff input. Greece has maintained good quality of local products for a long time. However, this has changed over the years. Bulgaria still has this advantage.

So, the Bulgarian products have a future on the Greek market, right?

They have a future. But if the Bulgarian products fail to enter the Greek market the reason certainly will not be the quality. The reason probably will be because the Greeks are among the worst, or more precisely, the strangest consumers in the world, according to me. They have a lot of prejudice and this will be difficult to change. The average Greek has no good opinion of Bulgarian products and considers them of low quality although they do not know them. The Greek consumer likes to buy more expensive products although they might not be of the best quality some time. Let’s take the walnuts – the Greeks will prefer Greek walnuts although the Bulgarian ones are of the same or better quality but twice cheaper.