August 31 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria harvested 5.6 million t of wheat this year, the largest amount since 1980, the country's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.
Average yield stood at 4.94 t per hectare, the ministry said in a statement. The highest yield, of 5.68 t per hectare, was recorded in Silistra region, in the northeast of the country.
Of the total wheat crop, some 2 million t will go to meet domestic needs, agriculture minister Desislava Taneva said, as quoted in the press release. Exports so far stand at just over 1 million t, she added.
"The quality of the wheat is better than last year's, as 43% of the harvest has very good bread baking qualities," Taneva noted.
In 2015 Bulgaria put a 12% larger area under wheat, the agriculture ministry said earlier.
According to local media, in 2015 the country produced 4.6 million t wheat.