Economics Paradox: Bulgaria Imports More Tomatoes Than Bananas

Analysis, comparison and mirror data differences in foreign trade are the basis for an approach necessary for recovery, sustainability and development. The figures for exports, imports and balance of commodity exchange and trade in services y/y compared to those of neighbours, for example, are a key indicator. Looking carefully at the mirror difference between national data, e.g. exports of the Russian Federation energy resources to Bulgaria with Bulgarian data on importsfrom Russia, we notice differences in currency and no differences in kind. Of course, it becomes apparent when we use globally available and globally comparable data, such as those of Trademap, Geneva.

This approach shows the lab values that are not a diagnosis, but without them there is no treatment, says at the beginning of his analysis for 3e-news.net Borislav Georgiev, expert in foreign trade.
The example of the TB index (ratio between the imported tonnes of Tomatoes and Bananas) is an eloquent overall indicator of the local production of tomatoes - imports of tomatoes (from mtp 0702) and bananas (from mtp 0803) in tonnes. I tried to develop such an indicator to show the real picture in the shortest and clearest way. To devise the TB index, I divided the tons of imported tomatoes into tons of imported bananas.

On average, nearly 81,000 tonnes of tomatoes and a little more than 57,000 tonnes of tomatoes are imported annually into Bulgaria as of 2020, i.e. the Bulgarian index is 1.41 and we are first in the Balkans. The indices of the other countries are as follows: Romania - 0.4, Serbia - 0.41, North Macedonia - 0.21, Greece 0.1, Croatia - 0.19, Turkey 0.01. The number for Germany is 0.55, US - 0.36, China - 0.00 , RF - 0.35.

We all like bananas equally in the Balkans....