Bulgaria Industry Sectors

Bulgaria is amongst Europe’s largest producers of lead, zinc and copper. Bulgaria’s industry sectors specialize in skilled engineering products and produce almost 10% of the world’s hydraulic machinery.[br]

Bulgaria is amongst Europe’s largest producers of lead, zinc and copper. Bulgaria’s industry sectors specialize in skilled engineering products and produce almost 10% of the world’s hydraulic machinery.[br]

The Bulgarian industry sectors also produce substantial quantities of:

• Machine tools

• Caustic soda

• Nuclear energy

• Military hardware

• Munitions

• Other finished and semi-finished products

Bulgaria is the largest electricity exporter in South-eastern Europe. In fact, the location of the country makes it the best place to strive for a higher growth rate. Bulgaria lies at the cross roads of Europe and Asia and therefore is an important location for inter-continent trade. The nation has rich mineral deposits and an efficient work force. The active contribution by the service sector gives a big boost to the economy as well. In 2009, the service sector contributed almost 64.9% of the total GDP.

Bulgaria Industry Sectors

The two big sectors of Bulgarian industry are energy and metallurgy. In fact, Bulgaria is the largest exporter of electricity in south-eastern Europe. Once the new pipelines are laid, the role of Bulgaria in oil transit will increase significantly.

The following industries are prominent for their contribution to the GDP:

• Electricity

• Gas

• Water

• Food

• Beverages

• Tobacco

• Machinery and equipment

• Base metals

• Chemical products

• Coke

• Refined petroleum

• Nuclear fuel[br]

•  

The Bulgarian industry sector absorbs around 35.5% of the total workforce as well. Below is a table depicting how the sector performs when compared to other sectors (in percentage):

 

 

Recession, however, proved more than just detrimental to growth. The unemployment rate jumped to 8% in 2009 and the worst hit was the industry sector. The Bulgarian industry sector suffered a 10% decline in the national industrial production index and mining fell by 60%. Ferrous and metal production dropped by another 31%.

According to government predictions, the GDP will experience a decline of 2.2% in 2010, besides there being a budget deficit of 0.7%.