31.10.2018 / Bulgaria will cooperate with China in the production of saffron

Within the framework of the Sino-European Cooperation Forum hosted for the first time in Haikou and organized on the territory of the Free Trade Zone in Hainan province since its establishment on October 31, 2018, an “Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Saffron Industry” between APACCCEEC and “Zhejiang Yangtian Agricultural, Science and Technology Co., Ltd.” was signed by Vasil Gelev, Executive Director of APACCCEEC and Zhu Hanliang, founder and chairman of the Chinese company. Witness of the official signing was Li-Rong Shen, professor at Zhejiang University, PRC. The research work of the professor focuses on the functional process of food, food safety and nutritional molecular biology.

The connection between saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and the Silk Road has a long history. The countries from the Belt and Road Initiative, which have a direct link with the introduction of saffron in China, are more than ten. Historically, saffron comes to China for the first time on the Silk Road. Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and other Central and Eastern European countries are traditional saffron producers. Bulgaria is a country with a large area planted with saffron and a professional association of producers. Responding adequately to the needs of the Chinese population and actively taking part in One Belt, One Road, Rural Revitalization and Healthy China, the two countries agreed to work towards a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange to promote agriculture, science and technology, trade, tourism and cultural exchange, and the construction of a Modern agricultural demonstration park “16 + 1”. Both countries will promote the import and export of safflower bulbs and related products and will seek to ensure the import of the first bulk of bulbs and related products from Central and Eastern Europe to China in 2019. A Forum in April 2019 is planned, to which the Chinese side will exchange experience with colleagues from the Agricultural University in Plovdiv, will also discuss the possibility of creating a student exchange program between the Agricultural University and the University of Zhejiang headed by Prof. Li-Rong Shen.