The good weather conditions during the entire vegetation of the cereals this year ensured high yields and good production, the Agriculture and Food Ministry said in a press release Monday.

The harvest in high-altitude fields, as well as elsewhere in the country, has been completed.

The average yield countrywide is 4,380 kg/ha. The highest average yields were reported in the regions of Dobrich (5,360 kg/ha), Silistra (5,070 kg/ha), Razgrad (4,720 kg/ha), Pleven (4,580 kg/ha), Sliven (4,590 kg/ha), and Vratsa and Vidin (4,480 kg/ha), BTA reported.

"This year's harvest is among the best, and the average yields are the highest in 16 years," Agriculture and Food Minister Tsvetanov said at the start of August. Wheat and barley yields exceeding 4,000 kg/ha have not been registered since 1991.

The Minister attributes this to the adequate agrotechnical procedures applied in the cultivation of winter wheat and the relatively favorable climatic conditions in autumn and spring.

The National Grain and Animal Feed Service said that the 1,435 wheat samples processed so far, which is about 35 per cent of the total sample to be tested from the wheat produced in 2008, show that the quality of the produce is comparable with that in the preceding ten years. This means that no imports of better quality wheat are necessary.

The cereals that have been gathered in are enough to meet the demand of the Bulgarian market for flour, animal feed and export. The grain harvest is expected to top 8 million tonnes at the end of the season.

Export of cereals from the new harvest has picked up. According to data of the Customs Agency, a total of 164,347 t of wheat have been exported so far at an average price of 344 leva/t. The exported barley is 141,817 t at an average price of 337 leva/t.