Pazardjik General Information
Municipality of Pazardjik is situated in South Bulgaria, in the central part of the Higher Thrace valley, on the north of the Rhodope Mountain, at the two banks of river Maritsa. The municipality borders on seven municipalities of district Pazardjik, including: municipality Strelcha, Panagyurishte, Lesichevo, Septemvri, Rakitovo, Peshtera and Bratsigovo; also on four municipalities from Plovdiv district - Saedinenie, Stamboliyski, Maritsa, Rhodopi. The region has a strategic location because three European transport corridors are passing through it: No 4 (Central Europe - Romania - Sofia - Pazardjik - Haskovo - Turkey - Asia); No 8 (Albania - Macedonia - Sofia - Pazardjik - Plovdiv - Stara Zagora - Sliven - Burgas - Varna); No 9 (Russia - Moldova - Romania - Rousse - Veliko Turnovo - Stara Zagora - Haskovo - Greece/Turkey

The density of the population is a little below the average of the country - 68 people per square km. The whole area of the municipality and the relative part compared to the territory of the country are shown in the following scheme:

Relief

The relief of the municipality is a flat country. Above sea level ranges from 190 to 370 m, the sea level for the town Pazardjik is 205 m. East of Pazardjik is the lowest part of the field - 200 m. under sea level. The field is poorly to river terraces... because it is hollow. This helps the flat country characteristics of the PazardjikпїЅs field. Both sides of the river Maritsa and its feeders have been formed to a low, but not widely flowed ledge. Here are the best alluvial soils of the field. More than 40% of the land in the district is arable.

Climate

Municipality of Pazardjik is of propitious transitive-continental climate, characterized with summer droughts. This climate is transitive, between continental climate of Danube plain and transitive Mediterranean climate in southeastern part of Bulgaria. The temperatures under zero in Thrace valley are characteristic for the most typical winter month - January. Because of the protection of Balkan Mountains and the influence of the Mediterranean Sea, the average January temperature in Pazardjik is below zero. The summer temperatures in Pazardjik are lower than those of Danube plain. The average temperature in July is 23.3 C. The long summer, often from April to October is sufficiently warm. This is suitable not only for cultivation of two cultures in the cultivated field, with yields of grain, but also for better development of some one-years cultures, growing in south regions - rice, tobacco, cotton and others.

In the valleys physical - geographical conditions reveal strongly to the regime temperature and especially to the duration of the winter and the heats. In the Pazardjik field during the winter, because of the temperature inversion is colder and there the winter is longer than in the Sredna Gora and Rhodopa mountainsides and spurs.

The earlier spring allows earlier sowing of summer cultures and late autumn is very favorable for well ripen...and gathering of grapes, tobacco, rice, cotton and others, so for a good ripen of the second cultures. In comparison with North Bulgaria, during the spring the Pazardjik field has earlier going off of the frost, and during the autumn - later.

The rainfall in the area depends of the cyclone winds, northwestern, southwestern and southern, northeastern and eastern. Stara planina and Sredna gora stand on the way of free penetration of the rainfall from cyclone winds from north and northwest, RhodopaпїЅs to the southern - Mediterranean rainfall. In this way, for the Thrace valley there are fewer rainfalls than is the average annual rainfall of Bulgaria. Because Pazardjik is situated under humid shadow from the surrounding mountains, the annual sum of the rainfall is 515 mm. In Pazardjik most of the rainfall is in summer - 142 mm (27.6%) and in spring - 27 %. The summer rainfall often is torrential and not enough for the agricultural products, especially for the second cultures.

Characteristic features for the Pazardjik field are the frequent droughts, showing mostly during the second half of July and first half from August.

Water resources

The municipality is abundant with water resources. Main catchments basin is the river Maritsa and its bigger feeders are the rivers Topolnitsa and Luda Yana.

An important source of water is subsoil and underground. They are results of the rainfall and disposed in some strata of the water-carrying horizon.

Minerals, Ores

On the territory of the Municipality, there are formations of non-metalliferous minerals. Most spreading minerals, ores and minerals are the dolomites. They can be found on the northern mountainsides of Rhodopa - between the villages Patalenitsa and Tsrancha, south and east from village Debrashtitsa. The biggest is the spreading of marmors in the hills of Besapara. At their foot near the village Ognyanovo can be found good exploited formation of limestone. Here is mining and producing the whole range of inert materials on the base of crushed stone (stone flour, broken stone), caustic and hydrated lime and ashy. In the territory of village Velichkovo are mining rock - facing materials. Some of them are not very well explored and worked out formations from granite, scanite and gabro.

Plenty of the ledges are from inert materials - river sand and felt, which are not very well explored and are not in exploitation.

Pazardjik Economy
There are favorable factors for the development of industry, agriculture and tourism in the region. Currently fairly well developed branches of the industry in the region are power engineering with its unique complex of hydroelectric stations Chaira, Belmeken, Sestrimo and Momina Klisura of 1615 MW total power capacity and three smaller water power stations; timber and wood processing with the largest number of companies registered in this field of activity; engineering and metal processing; chemical industry with pulp and paper, rubber, car battery and bio-medical production; ore mining and mineral extraction for the extraction and processing of copper, marble, granite, sand and lime, dolomite and muscovite; food processing with several fruit and vegetables, wine, diary, meat and cereals processors and textile, tailoring, leather and shoe industries.

During the last ten years our country underwent complicated changes, which reflected to the economic activity in the whole country and in particular in the development of the municipalities. The economic crisis from the end of 1996 and the beginning of 1997 leaded to a reduction in the production and incomes of the people, which lay down and the urgently initiating of the currency board. The aim is to establish a strictly macroeconomic discipline, to stop inflation and to stabilize the economics.

Because of the competence utilization of the opportunities of the currency board, has been reached a very indispensable macroeconomic stabilization, attended even with the minimum growth of 3.5% in 1998 and 2.4% in 1999. In the presence, for the economics in the country as a whole, it is of a vital interest to reach higher rate of growth by the increasing of the competitive and outgoing on new markets.

The expectations for the following years are 4 - 5% percent annual growth of the gross inner product. In order to be reached, that and higher significant growth, it is necessary as a whole for the country, so for the separate district and municipalities, to mobilize more strongly the powerful sides and abilities for a stable rising development.

The period 1997 - 1998 is a critical for municipality Pazardjik and the economics here, since the same has fallen into a heavy financial condition. In line to limited opportunity on the inner market for realization of the production, the basic reason is in losses of the market positions in the countries of ex-socialist camp. In the same time predisposition of the technical, technological and personnel potential, to the high requirements of the western market turned out that it is a comparatively prolonged process.

The municipality Pazardjik has rather low gross inner product (GIP) of an inhabitant (about 90 % from the average standard from the index for the country), the level of the unemployment is above the average for the country (16.25%) and unfortunately - with signs of increasing, and the amount of the monetary incomes for an inhabitant is about 80 % of the average for the country. These are serious problems for the municipality; they can be surmounted only by active actions in pursuance of the development strategy.

During the last years, there can be seen growth in the activity of the private firms in the municipality. That can be explained with the crisis in the public sector of the municipal economics, the different speed of the privatization in the separate economical sectors, but especially an important agent is the appearance of the local enterprise for development of the private economical activity. Important measurements of the activity of the private firms is the part of the employment in the private sector, which for the Municipality Pazardjik is 39 % and exceeds the average level for the country (31.9%), as it is in the incomes from sales by current prices, twice bigger than those in the public sector by the end of 1999.

The major activities and directions of the industry on the territory in the Municipality Pazardjik, created from the enterprises with municipal, regional and national meaning are in food, wine and tobacco industries and equipment for the production.

Food processing industry

Production of fruit and vegetables canned food

Because of a good natural conditions and the high quantity of produced agriculture production, the manufacturing of fruits and vegetables and canned foods from them is a traditional and strong developed sub-branch in the municipality. In the town of Pazardjik is one of the biggest canning factories in the country. KK Maritsa owns modern Italian equipment, storage base with cooling halls for conservation of the production and has the possibilities to manufacture big quantities of fruits and vegetables. In the presence the factory is privatized and works with decreased capacity, because of the lost markets.

During the last years are created smaller private firms and they purchased and manufactured fruits and vegetables. One of them is пїЅMarisпїЅ Ltd., which exported its production in Russia and Ukraine.

For improving the work in these enterprises and to switch to the higher quality of the production is advisable to be used, the possibilities of the program SAPARD for giving an opportunity of investment line for producing and processing of fruits and vegetables. By this way will be encourage the application of new technologies for cooling and freezing, long-lasting conservation of fruits and vegetables, mastering of technological lines for canning foods suitable to European standards.

Diary industry

In the town of Pazardjik works a factory for manufacturing butter, cheese, and yogurt - "Mlechna promishlenost". After the privatization, the main problem is to find out new markets for realization of the production, because only the inner market is extremely not enough. An important problem is an inculcating of new equipment, which corresponds to the standards of the European union for ecological pure production. In district of Pazardjik, only one firm has a permission to export diary products in European union. In many of the villages on the territory of the municipality are created small diary farms and they purchased milk and produced cheese and yogurt. There are also small farms in which are breeding milk cows. Many efforts are needed to ensure and holding up the European standards for quality of the producing milk and diary products.

In view of the fact that "Mlechna promishlenost" and other dairyings had a sizeable capacity and possibilities for producing of diary foods, they together with their partners in dairying can take an advantage of the new opportunities which can be given from the program SAPARD in the district of improvement the production of diary foods. In this program is foreseeing to be

Given and opportunity of new investment lines in the diary producing sector, the aim is to be increased the quality and hygiene norms of the producing the same and doing better their marketing.

Meat industry

In the municipality worked different meat-producers, including meat packinghouse "M & M 90" and others. There are conditions for development of the meat industry, because of the presence of many small farms for fattened pigs and calves. Except the big meat packinghouse here worked small slaughterhouses, they purchased animals from the separate private owners. It is necessary to be bettered the organization and producing of meat and meat products, for creating of well-equipped slaughterhouses. In this area also can be used the possibilities given from the program SAPARAD in relation of investment lines, directed to increasing the quality of the production according to the European standards and its competitive power, not only on the inner market and also for the international markets.

Miller's and rise industry

In the municipality Pazardjik works a flour-factory "Melor". Here is producing rise and there is a flour - mill. This branch is strong developed because of the presence of sufficient by quantity and quality a raw material. In the Pazardjik field is cultivated rise and corn with high quality. The presence of the stuff and labor force preordinated formation of such factory in this region. Main problem now is a strong-decreased area with rise growing. For the preordination is advisable to be revived a crop of rise through building of modern rise areas.

Wine industry

Because of favorable climate and soils in the municipality are growing different types of wine grape, which is a precondition for development of wine production. As a whole, the district is known with many wine regions and wine cellars. In the town of Pazardjik works "Vintechprom." There are delivery stations not only in municipality Pazardjik, but also in other municipalities in the region. Here are produced different types of white and red wines. An approval for the high quality of its production is the awarded gold medal on the last exhibition for wine-producers. The basic problem for the factory is a shortage of enough quantity of grape, because of the destroyed vine growing. Advisable is to be searched for possibilities of building of bigger public-private partnerships for effective using the possibilities, shown from the program SAPARD in the area of vine-growing.

Tobacco industry

One of the well-developed branches in the region is a tobacco growing. Here are cultivated Oriental tobacco and Virginia. The manufacturing of tobacco is concentrated in the lands of the villages Tsrancha, Debrastitsa, Patalenitsa and Aleko Konstantinovo. The tobacco is processed in Bulgartabac Pazardjik. Here is doing only the primary processing of the tobacco. The processed fermented tobacco is selling to the cigarette factories.