Bulgarian arable land cheaper due to drought

The drought in eastern Europe has made arable land a lot cheaper in Ukraine, local real estate agents report. The price for the so-called 'Dobrudzha chernozem', the most expensive type of arable land in Ukraine, is €2.000 to €2.500 per hectare lower in mid-November than a few months ago.

The price decline of Bulgarian arable land started in the spring and in the meantime agricultural land is even being traded for less than €10.500 per hectare. That's about $2.000 to $2.500 per hectare less than a few months ago. Striking fact: in 2019 the average price for arable land in the Dobrich region was even 93,8% higher than today. In the most expensive areas, the price was still almost €14.000 per hectare a few months ago, but now no more than €11.000 to €12.500 per hectare is paid.

More supply, less demand
One of the reasons the market has collapsed is that the drought has resulted in poor crop yields. As a result, a large number of Bulgarian farmers are attempting to sell their agricultural land. However, the increasing supply of agricultural land is disproportionate to demand. For the same reason, demand is much lower than in previous years. In short: many farmers stop farming, while non-farmers do not want to be farmers.

A number of local real estate agents expect the agricultural land market to collapse even further if the drought lasts longer. This is partly because European agricultural policy is partly based on the cultivated area and the quality of the yields in a country.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.