Despite the future gunpowder factories, we checked: Bulgaria grows cotton on about 20,000 decares.

In recent days, cotton has entered the news broadcasts. The culture, which is almost extinct in Bulgaria, is part of the production of gunpowder, and our country has committed to building gunpowder factories in our country. Cotton is an important component of gunpowder production, with low-fiber varieties being of great importance, such as those selected at the Institute of Field Crops in Chirpan. During the visit of the President of the EC Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend, future investment in two gunpowder factories was discussed, but the information from the talks did not mention an increase in cotton production in the country and possible benefits for Bulgarian farmers. In recent years, there have been significant fluctuations in the area allocated for cotton production in the European Union—an increase from 325,000 hectares in 2017 to 362,000 hectares in 2020, followed by a gradual decline to 290,000 hectares in 2024. In 2023, the production of unginned cotton in the EU ...