The average market price of agricultural land in Bulgaria in 2007 reached 235 leva per 1000 sq m, an increase of 19 per cent compared to the 2006 figures, Agriculture and Food Ministry research showed.

Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Svetla Buchvarova said that nearly 125 000 deals for 1.153 billion sq m had been completed in 2007.

A total of eight per cent of the deals included a change of the land status, a 79 per cent more than in 2006, investor.bg said.

The price difference was significant between different regions of the country. The most expensive agricultural land was in the regions of Dobrich and Blagoevgrad with prices exceeding 400 leva per 1000 sq m. The least expensive were the lands around Haskovo and Shoumen, where prices were 180 leva per 1000 sq m.