We are predicting modest cargo throughput at the port of Varna in 2015. Growth in tonnage will be slower relative to last year, reflecting a general deceleration of Bulgaria’s foreign trade growth. Box traffic growth will also be subdued, but a little stronger than last year, in part because domestic consumption remains the main driver of the economy, and tends to require a high proportion of containerised imports.
No party or coalition won a clear majority in the October 5 2014 parliamentary elections. A month after the poll it appeared that former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov would preside over a minority government formed by his centre-right GERB party and the Reformist Bloc, an alliance of five smaller parties, also of the centre-right. Pending final coalition talks the outlook remained uncertain. Uncertainty has been weighing down on the country’s modest recovery. BMI has trimmed its GDP growth forecast for Bulgaria to 1.9% in 2015 and 2.9% in 2016 (down from 2.5% and 3.2% respectively). This also reflects weaker than expected demand for exports from the eurozone and pressure on household spending, which for the moment remains the main motor of growth.
Headline Industry Data
* 2015 port of Varna tonnage throughput forecast to grow 3.8% to 17.086mn tonnes; over the medium-term (to 2019) we project an average annual increase of 4.2%.
* 2015 port of Varna container throughput forecast to grow 3.0% to 139,060TEUs; over the medium-term we project a 3.9% average annual increase.
* 2014 total trade growth forecast at 2.5%, down from an estimated 4.9% in 2014.
Key Industry Trends
Work Underway To Improve Bulgarian Sector O f River Danube: In October 2014 Nikolina Angelkova, Bulgaria’s interim minister of transport, IT, and communications, said that a newly-built Danube River information centre, based in the city of Ruse, would start operating within a month and a half.
Source: Business Monitor International