MAFF (Ministry of agriculture, food and forestry)

Agrostatistics Department

Bulgaria, 1040 Sofia, Hristo Botev blvd

The survey of poultry in Bulgaria was introduced in 2004 and covers the following species: chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, quail, ostrich and guinea fowl. The intention of the study is to provide information of the number, the species and categories of the poultry on December 31, the production of eggs for human consumation, eggs for hatching and poultry for slaughtering in the observed calendar year. The activity of hatcheries is also observed. The study is based on a representative sample of poultry farms, which grow one or more species of poultry.

 NUTS classification, Combined Nomenclature

NACE Rev.2 - 01.47 Raising of poultry 

The definition applied to data collection is in line with the EU methodology for statistics on eggs for human consumption.

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Agricultural holdings with laying hens

Statistical survey covers units defined as farms under the Law on Agricultural Census in Bulgaria in 2010 growing one or more types of poultry.
New farms established after 2010 are added each year. The new farms are found in different administrative sources such as the Register of agricultural holdings under Ordinance 3/1999 and others.

The legal threshold for a poultry farm is 50 laying hens. However, due to the existence of other threshold criteria (land management, breeding of other animal species, etc.) during the census of agricultural holdings in 2010  we found many farms producing fewer layig hens. In the farm survey list for annual statistics (on the number of eggs produced and the number of laying hens), holdings growing up to 100 laying hens are included in the sample in several strata, depending on the number of hens raised and whether they breed  laying hens only or also other species of birds. The holdings with 100 or more laying hens are surveyed exhaustively.

In 2018, the sample includes 1358 farms with laying hens, accounting for 83.8% of all laying hens. 

The data is representative on NUTS 2 level - 6 statistical regions.

Data on eggs for consumption are available from 2004 to 2018

2004

2018

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An agreement between NSI and MAFF. The survey on poultry is included in the National Statistical Program in the  Agrostatistics Department plan as a body of statistics in the field of agriculture. 

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The data are disseminated through a specialized publication on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture. 

https://www.agrostat.bg/ISASPublic/Livestock

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National Statistical Yearbook, Agricultural Report of MAFG, Agrostatistic Reference Book

Methodological notes and Metadata are published on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; Instruction for conducting the statistical survey.

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The data is used by experts at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food - Livestock Directorate, Analysis and Strategic Planning Directorate, and other directorates, the Union of Poultry Farmers in Bulgaria, the Union of Agricultural Producers and other branch organizations, research institutes and universities. 

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Together with information on laying hens and eggs for consumption, information is also available on other species and categories of poultry, such as hens, broilers, turkeys, ducks, geese, quails, ostrich and
guinea fowl, and for the production of eggs by other poultry species; the number of poultry fattened and slaughtered during the reference year.

The achieved accuracy for laying hens after the survey was cv = 0.45 and for the total poultry number cv = 0.16. Only 3 holdings did not deliver information (2 refusals and 1 holding was not found for an interview) or 0.1% of all respondents. Due to a lack of administrative information, data was not imputed.

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The data is collected in the same way throughout the country.

The problem of the comparability of data by regions (NUTS2) is the difference in the scope of their territory until 2007 and thereafter, resulting from the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 176/2008.

For the period 2004 - 2018 there is no interruption in the data series. As a source for comparing the number of breeding birds in the annual statistics, incl.utility laying hens we use the results of the structure surveys  -  census 2010 and the sample structure surveys in 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2016.

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The data on the number of laying hens and eggs for consumption results from an annual sample survey. 

The sample of farms with poultry is stratified and provides the necessary coverage in the studied species.
The sample was compiled from a list of poultry farms surveyed during the agricultural census in 2010. Farms were divided into six groups according to specialization (type of poultry):
- Specialized farms with laying hens;
- Specialized farms with chickens for meat (broilers);
- Specialized farms with other poultry;
- No specialized farms (growing more than one kind of poultry);
- Small poultry farms, growing to 10 birds;
- Large holdings surveyed exhaustively
- New farm (created after 2010).
Each group was divided into subgroups - 13 subgroups (strata) based on the number of poultry in them x 28 districts (NUTS3) = 364 strata total.
In a survey in 2018, the sample includes 2291 farms with poultry, of which 1358 with/raising utility laying hens. The sample covers 3.3% of all farms with poultry and 94.6% of all birds, inc. 83.8% of laying hens. The data are representative on the level 6 statistical regions (NUTS2).
Farms growing 100 or more laying hens (516 holdings) are surveyed exhaustively. The survey is implemented locally by experts on agricultural statistics in the Regional Directorate "Agriculture" - by e-mail or conducting interview with farmers and completing a statistical questionnaire.

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The number of laying hens is reported as of 31 December.

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The survey is carried out on-the-spot in the holdings by  experts on agricultural statistics in the MAFF regional offices by e-mail or by interview.