At least 1.6 million of Bulgaria's 4.3-million-ton wheat crop harvested this year is of premium quality, said Zlati Zlatev, director of the government's grain executive service.

The government official dismissed as untrue earlier reports that as much as 80% of the wheat crop was only good enough for animal feed and the country would have to import quality wheat.

Domestic consumption has fallen over the last couple of years to 850,000 tons.

Laboratory testing has determined that 1.5 mln tons of this year's crop meets bread production standards. It will be mixed with 100,000 tons of fodder wheat to achieve the desired quality, said Zlatev.

The record harvest has depressed domestic prices, more or less keeping a lid on commodity trading in the first month after the 2008 crop came to the market.

After Bulgaria joined the EU, State Fund Agriculture no longer subsidises grain storage. Farmers have to sell immediately to secure cash for the fall sowing.

Wheat exports also remain sluggish despite a recent farming ministry statement that over 200,000 tons of wheat and barley had been shipped abroad in a month.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Svetla Bachvarova has said that wheat exports could top two million leva in revenue but could be bottlenecked by the limited cargo handling capacity of Bulgarian ports.

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