The role of marketing strategy in a search for a better performance of organic producers’ organisations in Bulgaria

摘要

Although the organic sector is still relatively small inBulgaria, there are growing success stories about organicproducts such as sheep and buffalo dairy products or essential oils and so on.Focus of the organic operators is primarily on the export markets bringingthough a low added-value to local country produce and leaving the nationalmarket unexploited. The analysisof the internal organic marketing conditions and the marketing environment forthe production and marketing of organic products by the Producers’Organisations (POs) made by this research led to the conclusions that asuitable an adaptable marketing strategy should be developed and run for abenefit to the PO members. As a result of a survey among some of the PO members,there is a clear trend towards increasing the number of organic operators, whoshow interest to a joint processing and marketing of organic produce. In spiteof the obstacles before the organic POs such as low volume of regional organicproduce and sales, insufficient labour, complicated administrative proceduresand insufficient capacity and advisory support, the PO members realise theeconomic advantages of the joint marketing. Most of them (about 44%) respondedthat they would seek and participate in such cooperation to reduce primary productioncosts and demand higher purchase prices for larger volumes or to reduce costsand improve market perspectives (around 21%). It is noteworthy, however, thatabout 31% are not sure about the cooperation due to the lack of sufficientinformation and probably due to insufficient knowledge and training on cooperationissues. Many of them declare that they need more capacity building and knowledgeon, for instance, design, formulation and setting up of an efficient POmarketing strategy or on marketing cooperatives issues.?Keywords:organic agriculture,producers organisations, marketing strategy.