Bulgaria harvests 1.64 mln t maize, 1.36 mln t sunflower in 2012

Last year the country’s maize crop totalled 2.09 million tonnes, while sunflower production exceeded 1.38 million tonnes.

Some 3,400 hectares put under maize were damaged by adverse weather conditions this year, while the affected areas under sunflower totalled 934 hectares, the ministry said in a statement.

In August, the agriculture ministry said it expects 40% lower maize crop for this year in line with the global trend and projected an overall output of 1.2 million tonnes.