Structural Changes in Agricultural Cooperatives Following Bulgaria’s European Union Integration

The article aims to analyze the structural changes in agricultural cooperatives in Bulgaria, in terms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU) and, on this basis, outline the main trends in their development. The analysis is based on official statistical information from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Forestry (MAF) “Agrostatistics”, primary data “Agricultural and Accounting Information System” (FADN) National Strategic Institute (NSI). The trend of changing the following indicators is investigated: number of agricultural cooperatives in Bulgaria, changes in the utilized agricultural area (UAA,); changes in arable land, average size of UAA, labor force, dynamics of the production structure (crop and livestock) for the 2007-2016 period. The results show that, as a consequence of the implementation of the CAP for the 2007-2016 period, structural changes in agricultural cooperatives are reported. They are expressed in the lasting tendency to decrease both their number and the land they manage. The analysis shows that the incentives under the various CAP support schemes have positive effects on the diversification of crop production. In general, the areas with cereals and oilseeds have decreased over the years. In 2016, there was an increase in the production of fresh fruits and vegetables as a result of the implementation of CAP measures resulting from coupled payments. Despite the CAP subsidies to support the livestock sector, including the support of farms included in selection control schemes, at the end of the period the number of cooperatives developing cattle breeding was almost halved. Despite the negative results in general, at the level of the production unit the result is in the consolidation of production.